Jamal Murray

Nuggets Notes: Valanciunas, Jordan, Jokic, Murray

October 30th, 2025 at 11:05pm CST by Rory Maher

The Nuggets have been pleased with the play of backup big man Jonas Valanciunas early on this season, according to Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. During the second quarter of Wednesday’s win over New Orleans, head coach David Adelman was able to rest Nikola Jokic for nearly eight-and-a-half minutes, with Denver extending its lead during that stretch.

“To have different guys and have different energy, I like that,” said Jokic. “(Valanciunas) is definitely a threat down (low). The guy can score, and he’s big and dominant down there. He’s getting people to collapse on him, and he’s a really good passer. So, it’s definitely an advantage for us.”

Valanciunas had a productive night, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in 14 minutes. Jokic wasn’t the only key Nugget to compliment the Lithuanian big man.

“‘Big Val’ is nice, you know?” Aaron Gordon said, per Saunders. “He’s certified. He’s just really, really, really, really good. So there’s not a huge drop-off. He’s just smart. Knows his game. Knows his spots. He’s bigger than every other matchup he has on him. And he settles down that second unit. When things get stymied or we can’t find a bucket, you can play through Big Val, just like how we play through ‘Joker.’”

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Just five days after signing a guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Pelicans, veteran center DeAndre Jordan faced off against his former team on Wednesday, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes. Jordan, 37, spent the past three seasons with the Nuggets, including winning a championship as a role player in 2023. “Definitely some emotions for sure,” Jordan said before Wednesday’s game. “Spent three years here. It was great. My teammates, coaches, everything. The fans were amazing. So it’s definitely some (emotions) running through (me) right now, coming here and seeing the locker room and the banner again. … I owe a lot to Denver.” Adelman praised Jordan’s locker-room presence, Durando adds. “Such a big part of what we were in that locker room, his personality, not just for the players but for the staff,” Adelman said after joking that Jordan’s three years in Denver felt like 30. “All-time vet. … I’m glad he’s back in the league.”
Jokic tied an NBA record on Wednesday by notching his fourth consecutive triple-double to open the season, notes Durando of The Denver Post. The three-time MVP center recorded 21 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the victory against the Pelicans.
Star guard Jamal Murray is off to a great start in 2025/26 but he may miss his first game of the season on Friday. He’s listed as questionable for the matchup vs. Portland due to left calf tightness, the Nuggets announced (via Twitter). Forward Cameron Johnson (right shoulder inflammation) is probable to suit up.

Nuggets Notes: Murray, Johnson, M. Brown, Holmes

October 29th, 2025 at 4:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Historically a slow starter who has posted his worst scoring and shooting numbers in October, November, and December, Jamal Murray was optimistic during the preseason about reversing that trend. So far, so good for the Nuggets guard, who has averaged 30.3 points, 6.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds in his first three games, with a scorching-hot .530/.429/.923 shooting line.

As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required) writes, the sample size is still far too small to jump to any conclusions, but if Murray’s hot start continues, he could have a shot to earn the first All-Star nod of his career. Predictably, head coach David Adelman is thinking more about how the point guard’s strong performances so far have impacted winning than whether or not Murray will finally get All-Star recognition.

“How many All-Stars haven’t won championships?” Adelman said. “How many All-Stars don’t have a triple-double in the Finals? … Yeah, he doesn’t go to the glorified pickup game, but the guy is a champion and one of the best players of this generation.”

We have more on the Nuggets:

Starting forward Cameron Johnson was unable to finish Monday’s win over Minnesota due to an injury the Nuggets are referring to as right shoulder inflammation, Durando writes in another story for The Denver Post (subscription required). “He was in pain. His shoulder was hurting him,” Adelman said. “I don’t think it’s extremely serious, but it was bothersome. To his credit, he came back out and tried to play. But that’s why it’s nice to have a guy like Tim (Hardaway Jr.) off your bench.” Johnson is listed as questionable to play on Wednesday vs. New Orleans.
The Nuggets carried veteran center Moses Brown on an Exhibit 10 contract for the preseason and made a trade to acquire his G League returning rights, but he wasn’t on the training camp roster announced on Monday by the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s affiliate (Twitter link). It’s unclear what the next stop will be for Brown, who has appeared in 163 NBA regular season games since debuting in 2019.
The Nuggets officially assigned DaRon Holmes to Grand Rapids on Tuesday, and that figures to be a common occurrence over the course of the season. As Durando writes for The Denver Post (subscription required), on paper, Holmes looks like a strong candidate to be the backup power forward in Denver’s NBA rotation, but the team will proceed extremely cautiously with the 2024 first-round pick after he missed his entire rookie year with an Achilles tear. Holmes is on board with that plan, according to Adelman. “DaRon has been nothing but positive. Great attitude. Good learner. Good in the locker room, not just on the court. Just a great kid overall,” the Nuggets’ coach said. “Can really shoot the ball. And you’ve gotta remember, he’s coming off an Achilles. It’s not like he had a sprained ankle last year. He’s playing basketball again for the first time (since college) in the last four months.”

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Caruso, Jazz, Nuggets, Johnson

October 23rd, 2025 at 5:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The sale of the Trail Blazers to Tom Dundon will take place in multiple stages over the next few years, sources with knowledge of the situation tell Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports.

After Dundon officially signed a purchase agreement last month, the expectation is that the sale will close in March and he’ll become the team’s majority owner at that time. According to Schiffer, a second transaction will occur at a later date, with Dundon buying the remaining shares in the team from the Allen estate at that time.

A source who spoke to Front Office Sports compared the deal to the Celtics’ sale, in which William Chisholm took over a controlling interest in the franchise earlier this year but isn’t expected to buy the remaining stake until 2028. This structure had been anticipated for the Blazers’ sale, with reporting on the initial tentative agreement suggesting that the $4.25 billion valuation of the franchise was a “blended” figure based on two separate projected payments.

Dundon and Sheel Tyle, who will be a minority stakeholder in the new ownership group, attended the team’s regular season opener in Portland on Wednesday, notes Jason Quick of The Athletic. The schedule began with a loss to the division-rival Timberwolves, though the team suffered a greater loss on Thursday, when head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested and placed on leave after being accused of helping to rig illegal poker games backed by the mafia.

We have more from around the Northwest:

Thunder guard Alex Caruso entered the NBA’s concussion protocol after Tuesday’s win over Houston and will have to go through the return-to-participation protocol and show he’s symptom-free before he’s cleared to return, per the team (Twitter link via Rylan Stiles of SI.com). Caruso will be inactive for Thursday’s NBA Finals rematch in Indiana.
Coming into the season, no team was projected to have a lower win total than the Jazz, so it came as a surprise when they ran out to a 37-point lead in a blowout win over the Clippers in Wednesday’s season opener. Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune shares his takeaways from a memorable start to the season, noting that 2024 first-round pick Cody Williams is out of the rotation but Utah still showed how its youth can be an asset rather than a liability. “We need to reframe that in our brains,” head coach Will Hardy said after his team beat the much older Clippers. “If we’re a little short on experience, we can still be high on energy.”
In an interesting feature story for The Denver Post, Bennett Durando details how the connection between executive VP of player personnel Jon Wallace and star guard Jamal Murray is emblematic of the reinvigorated Nuggets, who feel “more like a team,” in the words of Aaron Gordon, following the organizational upheaval which saw Denver part with its head coach and GM with just three games remaining in the 2024/25 regular season. Wallace, whom Durando describes as the Nuggets’ new co-general manager alongside executive VP of basketball operations Ben Tenzer, has long had a close relationship with Murray and challenged him to be a more consistent leader this summer. “It’s like, ‘All right, how do you turn up the mental level? What’s the small percentage that makes you a little bit better, that helps you kind of reinvent yourself or unlock another level of your attack?’” Wallace told The Post. “… That was the whole thing behind this summer. ‘I want you to be vocal, because when you’re vocal, you’re engaged, and when you’re engaged, your teammates look to you, and they revere you, and they respect you.’“
Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson learned resilience from his father and by extension his late grandmother. It’s a quality he believes will help him as he works to get comfortable both on and off the court in Denver, Quick writes for The Athletic. Johnson’s new teammates and head coach have nothing but good things to say about him, and are confident the 29-year-old will eventually find his groove in the team’s read-and-react offense. “There is a fine balance between him just fitting in, which he is trying to do right now, and then him also just being himself, and knowing that the guys will be OK with that,” said coach David Adelman. “You know, it’s that way with Aaron and Jamal. They’ll play our way — cut, move and screen — but they will also get into their bag and go one-on-one, and that’s OK because they’re really talented players. I think Cam will get there once he has more experience with these guys.”

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Nuggets Notes: Two-Big Lineup, Braun, Watson, Murray, Jones, Delk

October 16th, 2025 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

After being named the Nuggets‘ permanent head coach in the spring, David Adelman has shown during the preseason that he’s willing to experiment with unusual lineup combinations to see what clicks, writes Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.

One of those lineups has seen centers Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas share the court. Adelman, who has used the two big men together for just a couple minutes in the second quarter in each of the past two games, admitted prior to Tuesday’s preseason matchup with Chicago that the unit is a work in progress, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required).

“I thought it was hilarious to watch it on tape,” Adelman said. “We haven’t had a ton of time (practicing with) those guys. They’ve scripted together, but they haven’t played together. But it’s kind of like, rip the Band-Aid off and just see what happens.

“… If they end up playing together a lot, we’ll slowly but surely add a package for those two guys,” he continued. “And not just for them, but to make the other three guys comfortable. I’ve made this point about Houston. Offensively, with the two bigs, (Alperen) Sengun was the point person, and (Steven) Adams just crushed the glass. So it’s like, our personalities are a little bit different. Val can crash the glass, but he’s also skilled. So I have to find a way to get those guys comfortable in space so they’re not right on top of each other.”

We have more on the Nuggets:

Both eligible for rookie scale extensions until Monday, fourth-year players Christian Braun and Peyton Watson have shown this month that they’re still adding new elements to their games, Durando writes in another story for The Denver Post. Braun has exhibited an increased willingness to take the ball to the basket, while Watson has operated on the ball more frequently this fall than in the past, Durando notes. Braun and Watson will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2026 if they don’t sign new deals before the season begins.
Jamal Murray has a history of starting seasons slow, but he looks well positioned to change that narrative this year, Benedetto writes for The Denver Gazette. Murray scored 30 points on 18 shots in Tuesday’s win over Chicago and appears to be “physically and mentally” ready for the season, says Benedetto.
Within the same story, Benedetto observes that two-way player Spencer Jones has frequently been used as the 10th man in Denver’s rotation this preseason, ahead of players like Jalen Pickett, Julian Strawther, and DaRon Holmes. The former undrafted rookie out of Stanford, entering his second season on a two-way contract with the Nuggets, has been lauded by Adelman for his defensive versatility.
The Nuggets have hired former NBA guard Tony Delk as a scout, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Delk, who appeared in 545 regular season games for eight teams from 1996-2006, most recently served as a pro personnel scout for the Mavericks.

And-Ones: Core Trios, MVP, Hayward, NBA App

October 15th, 2025 at 11:04am CST by Rory Maher

Tim Bontemps of ESPN ranks the core trios of every NBA team based on their current and future value. Unsurprisingly, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren of the defending champion Thunder sit atop Bontemps’ tiered list, followed by the Nuggets trio of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.

Bontemps’ final tier (“rebuilding”) is comprised of the Nets (Nic Claxton, Egor Demin, Nolan Traore), Trail Blazers (Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe), Jazz (Ace Bailey, Walter Clayton, Lauri Markkanen), and Wizards (Bilal Coulibaly, Tre Johnson, Alex Sarr).

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Using six categories (narrative score, expected ridiculous stats score, team quality score, clutch score, player impact score, and perceived value score), Zach Harper of The Athletic takes a stab at predicting who will win the NBA’s MVP award in 2025/26. Jokic, who was the runner-up last season, earns the most points (55/60), followed by reigning MVP Gilgeous-Alexander (50/60) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (50/60), who finished third in voting last season. However, Harper’s “gut” says Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (45/60) will claim his first MVP.
Former NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward, who retired last summer after a 14-year career in the league, is returning to his alma mater in a new role. According to a Butler press release written by John Dedman, Hayward will be an executive basketball advisor for the Bulldogs’ men’s basketball program. In addition to advising in multiple areas, Hayward will also serve as a mentor to student-athletes, with a focus on leadership and professional development.
The NBA announced in a press release that it has launched a new multi-platform streaming offering as well as the “reimagined” NBA TV, both of which can be accessed via the NBA App. There’s also a new flagship program on NBA TV and the NBA App called “The Association,” which features MJ Acosta-Ruiz, David Fizdale, Rudy Gay, Chris Haynes and John Wall, among others.

Nuggets Notes: Jokic, Valanciunas, Braun, Brown, Murray

September 29th, 2025 at 1:55pm CST by Rory Maher

Three-time MVP and 2023 Finals MVP Nikola Jokic declined to sign a veteran extension with the Nuggets this summer, but that decision was more about maximizing his earnings rather than any sign of disconnect, he confirmed today (Twitter link via Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports).

“My plan is to be with the Nuggets forever,” Jokic said.

Jokic has long said he admires Tim Duncan, who spent all 19 years of his illustrious career with the Spurs.

The Nuggets were reportedly anticipating that Jokic might bypass an extension due to the additional year and extra $79MM they can offer next summer.

Based on the latest salary cap projections, a three-year, maximum-salary for Jokic beginning in 2027/28 would be worth $206.4MM. A four-year deal, available next offseason, would be worth a projected $285.4MM.

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

New backup center Jonas Valanciunas was heavily linked to Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos this summer shortly after Denver agreed to acquire him in a trade sending Dario Saric to Sacramento. When asked about that interest, Valanciunas made it clear he was focused on the present, as Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette relays (via Twitter). “One thing I want to clarify is I’m here. I’m happy to be here. I’m going to dive in to win more games than ever,” Valanciunas said. Interestingly, head coach David Adelman said the Nuggets will explore using Jokic and Valanciunas together at times, tweets Benedetto.
Executive VP of player personnel Jon Wallace said the Nuggets have had “preliminary conversations” with Christian Braun about a potential rookie scale extension, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link). “We hope to kind of build on (those talks) in the next couple days. He’s a large part of what we do,” Wallace said. Braun, who will remain extension-eligible through Oct. 20, said he wasn’t frustrated that a deal hasn’t been completed yet (Twitter link from Benedetto).
Veteran swingman Bruce Brown is back with the Nuggets after spending the past two years on three different teams. He tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape that leaving in 2023 free agency after the championship run was purely a financial decision. “I left (Denver) obviously because I got paid really well; I didn’t want to leave,” Brown said. “It was tough to leave, but I had to. I was in a place like Indy, which was on the verge of being really good. And I ended up being traded to teams where they were rebuilding and not really in a position to win a championship. And if you know how I play, I like to win. I don’t like to lose. So, as soon as I got to Toronto, I thought about coming back to Denver right away. Fast forward to getting traded to New Orleans. Another tough spot. A lot of injuries there. And the whole time I was in New Orleans, I was thinking about the Nuggets.”
After an injury limited his effectiveness in both the 2024 playoffs with Denver and in the Paris Olympics with Canada, Jamal Murray says he feels much better this year heading into training camp, tweets Benedetto. “I just feel a lot better than last summer. That’s always positive,” said Murray.

Nuggets Notes: Adelman, Johnson, Braun, Murray, C. Jones

July 19th, 2025 at 8:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

David Adelman will enter his first full season as Nuggets head coach with the type of roster that former coach Michael Malone was hoping for, along with sudden pressure to win big, writes Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. Adelman didn’t face those kinds of expectations when he took over for Malone late in the season, but he guided the team to the second round of the playoffs and a seven-game series with eventual champion Oklahoma City.

The new management team bolstered the roster by trading for Cameron Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas and adding Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. in free agency. Keeler states that it’s how the roster should have looked in 2023/24, when former general manager Calvin Booth decided to emphasize the development of young players over defending the NBA title.

“We think we’ve given ourselves a chance to give (Adelman) some tools, to have some resources to where we can be competitive,” said executive vice president of player personnel Jon Wallace. “Obviously, the season has to play itself out. But do we feel confident? Yes. But like I said, there’s a lot of basketball to be played. These guys have to gel. (Adelman’s) got to put his new philosophies in. So, time will tell.”

Johnson, who was acquired from Brooklyn in a trade involving Michael Porter Jr., expressed his excitement about being with a title contender again during an introductory news conference on Friday, Keeler adds.

“I want to win,” he said. “At the end of the day, I want to win. I want to win a championship. And obviously, we have the pieces to do it here. And that’s what I’m most excited about.”

There’s more on the Nuggets:

There are varied projections about what Christian Braun‘s extension might look like, but it’s reasonable to expect an average annual value of at least $30MM, Bennett Durando of The Denver Post states in a mailbag column. If he does reach that figure, Durando adds, the Nuggets will face a cap squeeze in 2026/27 with the starting lineup plus Zeke Nnaji combining for more than $200MM against a second apron currently projected at $222.4MM. Team salary could increase depending on how management handles Peyton Watson‘s potential extension, Valanciunas’ non-guaranteed contract and the options they hold on four rookie-scale contracts.
Nuggets fans should be encouraged by reports of Jamal Murray workouts during his time in Las Vegas, observes Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Murray, who struggled through a disappointing Olympics experience last offseason, has trained with Denver’s Summer League team and taken part in private workouts with some of the league’s best players.
A strong Summer League showing should help Curtis Jones land Denver’s final two-way spot, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. The rookie guard out of Iowa State, who gets an A from Keeler in a full story examining his play in Las Vegas.

Nuggets’ David Adelman Plans Style Changes Next Season

May 28th, 2025 at 9:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

David Adelman talked about changes in philosophy and style of play at an introductory news conference Wednesday to officially make him the Nuggets‘ permanent head coach, writes Pat Graham of The Associated Press.

Adelman held the job on an interim basis after taking over when Michael Malone was fired on April 8 with three games left in the regular season. Adelman led the team to a first-round victory over the Clippers before dropping a seven-game series to the Thunder in the second round.

Players responded positively to the increased input they were able to provide under Adelman, along with the lifting of tensions that occurred with the dismissal of Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.

Looking ahead to next season, Adelman said he wants the team to get in “better shape” and he’s planning to expand the rotation beyond what Malone normally utilized. He’s looking at a slower style of play to maximize the skills of star center Nikola Jokic.

“We have to get back to being an execution-based team,” Adelman said. “If that takes away some of our pace numbers, or whatever the analytics want to say, I think that’s OK if it wins you a game in May, as opposed to playing a game in December. The majority of the time, if you want to win big, you’ve got to play slow. You’ve got to be efficient. You’ve got to be clean. So that will be things we’ll talk about throughout the summer, going to training camp.”

Graham points out that it won’t be easy to add talent to the roster because the Nuggets don’t own any picks in next month’s draft. Any significant trade would likely have to break up the current starting five, so the best avenue toward improvement will be progress from young players Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, Jalen Pickett and DaRon Holmes, who missed his entire rookie season after suffering an Achilles tear in a Summer League game.

There’s more from Denver:

Between the reduced pace and Adelman’s desire for “a premium on shot-making,” Russell Westbrook shouldn’t be part of the team next season, contends Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Westbrook holds a $3.47MM player option, and Renck says the best outcome would be for him to decline it and join a team like Brooklyn that’s looking for a big name. Renck suggests using the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign free agent Tyus Jones, who would provide a steadier option as backup point guard.
Team president Josh Kroenke wants a better relationship between his coach and GM this time, so Adelman will have at least a small role in filling that position, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “DA will come into that process at some point. … But I think the input will be relatively minimal, because what I’ll be looking for is cohesion between those two (roles),” Kroenke said. “And I think that once we decide on that, I think I’ll have a lot of comfort on how they work together.” Kroenke added that he has “no news on that front” when asked about hiring an outside firm to identify potential GM candidates. He also praised interim GM Ben Tenzer for the way he’s handled the role since Booth was fired.
Adelman needs to send a strong message to Jamal Murray about coming to camp in shape and being at his best when the season starts, states Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. Murray’s four-year, $207.8MM extension will take effect next season.

Nuggets Notes: Depth, Porter, Tenzer, Gordon, Westbrook

May 19th, 2025 at 9:09am CST by Luke Adams

Through two rounds of the NBA playoffs, Nuggets starters Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, Christian Braun, and Aaron Gordon ranked one through four in the NBA in total minutes played. To some extent, that was a byproduct of Denver being the only team to play two seven-game series, but those four Nuggets all averaged between 37.3 and 41.3 minutes per game during the postseason, reflecting the team’s lack of reliable depth.

“We definitely need to figure out a way to get more depth,” Jokic said the Nuggets’ Game 7 loss on Sunday, per Tony Jones and Sam Amick of The Athletic. “It seems like the teams that have longer rotations, the longer benches, are the ones winning. You look at Indiana and OKC and Minnesota, and they have been great examples of that.”

Adding depth won’t be the easy for the Nuggets, who are hamstrung to some extent by maximum-salary contracts for Jokic, Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. Denver projects to operate in tax apron territory next season, lacks appealing trade chips, and is the only team that doesn’t have a pick in this year’s draft.

As Jones and Amick observe, it would be logical for the Nuggets to explore trading Porter, who is the most expendable of the team’s highest-paid players. Troy Renck of The Denver Post comes to the same conclusion, lauding Porter for gutting it out through a shoulder injury in the postseason but arguing that his inconsistency has become a liability for the club.

An April report indicated that Nuggets ownership has a particular fondness for Porter because he played his college ball at Missouri, the same school Stan Kroenke and Josh Kroenke attended. However, the prospect of trading Porter at this year’s deadline was “very much in play,” according to Jones and Amick, who note that the Nuggets gave real consideration to including him in a package for Zach LaVine earlier in the season.

We have more on the Nuggets:

It remains unclear who will be making the roster decisions in Denver this offseason, since the team fired general manager Calvin Booth near the end of the regular season. League sources tell Jones and Amick of The Athletic that the Nuggets haven’t moved forward with a search for a new general manager yet and there’s an expectation that interim GM Ben Tenzer has a chance to earn the position on a permanent basis, as Marc Stein and Jake Fischer previously reported.
After playing through a hamstring strain in Game 7, Gordon told reporters, including Bennett Durando of The Denver Post, that he “knew the risks” of taking the court and acknowledged that he “couldn’t sprint,” but said he was determined to give the team all he had. “There was never a doubt in my mind that I was going to play,” he said. “The only thing that made me doubt playing was the MRI. The MRI told me something worse than what I was feeling.” Interim head coach David Adelman referred to Gordon’s effort as “one of the more incredible things I’ve ever seen,” tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook was noncommittal when asked what he plans to do with his 2025/26 player option, as Benedetto relays in another tweet. Even if he wants to remain in Denver, it probably makes sense for Westbrook to turn down that $3.47MM option, since a new minimum deal would pay him $3.63MM.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks has published his Nuggets offseason preview in the form of an ESPN.com article as well as a YouTube video. There are some key extension candidates to watch in Denver this summer, according to Marks, who identifies Jokic (veteran extension) and Braun (rookie scale extension) as two players who will be eligible to sign new deals.
In case you missed it, Adelman is reportedly considered a strong candidate to have his interim tag removed and become the Nuggets’ full-time head coach.

Adelman Considered Strong Candidate To Remain Nuggets’ Head Coach

May 18th, 2025 at 9:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

In the aftermath of the Nuggets’ blowout loss to the Thunder in Game 7 on Sunday, one of their core players made it clear he wants David Adelman to return as head coach.

“I love DA,” forward Aaron Gordon said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “I hope he’s here next year. I hope he’s our next coach. I hope he gets an entire training camp and a whole offseason to figure out his philosophy. DA’s great. He was excellent for us, and I hope that he’s here next year.”

Adelman was elevated from his assistant coaching job with three games remaining in the season after Michael Malone was fired, along with general manager Calvin Booth, by the team’s ownership. Malone and Booth had a strained relationship due to differences in opinion over the team’s personnel and Malone’s rotation decisions.

Adelman is considered a strong candidate to have the interim tag removed, MacMahon reports. However, team governor Josh Kroenke declined to directly address the head coaching job.

The team’s superstar, Nikola Jokic, indicated that Adelman did an admirable job under trying circumstances.

“You had three games to change something,” Jokic said. “I think he changed energy. I think the guys were woken up a little. Guys had more energy. He made us believe something, and we played good. We played a seven-game series against the best team in the NBA. We had opportunity, we had chances. I think he did a really good job.”

Guard Jamal Murray told the Denver Post’s Bennett Durando that “I think (Adelman) did a great job” noting “the different schemes that we came up with.”

Adelman, who was an assistant with Minnesota and Orlando prior to be hired by Denver in 2017, wouldn’t lobby for the job after team’s 125-93 loss.

“Decision-makers will make that decision,” he said. “Obviously blessed to have this opportunity to take the helm and lead this team. If I’m not back next year, I’ll obviously never forget this. It’s been an incredible experience. To have the buy-in from the guys was really special for me.”

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