Denver's first-round exit sparked coaching questions, but Adelman was protected to start.
The Denver Nuggets got bounced by the Minnesota Timberwolves in six games in the first round, and almost immediately David Adelman became the scapegoat.
After one full season as head coach, out in the first round, against a Timberwolves team that was missing Anthony Edwards for most of the series.
Fans were fed up, and now media members have started tossing out replacement names.
The whole situation has spiraled in a matter of days.
But a report from Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints had some information that makes the "fire Adelman" crowd look a lot less reasonable.
Siegel reported that part of the reason the Nuggets got rid of Michael Malone in the first place was because they were scared of losing Adelman to another franchise.
"One of the reasons the Nuggets ultimately moved on from Malone was out of fear of losing Adelman to another team, as sources said he had long been viewed internally as the franchise's next head coach once Malone moved on," Siegel wrote. "That time came last season, and despite all the struggles faced this season, Denver does not appear prepared to go through another coaching change in the immediate future."
What Adelman Did With a Broken Roster
The Nuggets didn't stumble into Adelman. They actually planned for him to take over.
He had been on staff since 2017 and other teams were circling him for head coaching jobs. Denver sped up its timeline with Malone in part to make sure Adelman stayed in the building, and they gave him a multi-year deal last summer.
So what did he actually do with his first full season?
He dealt with 28 different starting lineups because of injuries and still won 54 games, finishing third in the West.
The offense led the league with a 122.6 rating.
Nikola Jokic put up 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists, another triple-double season.
Jamal Murray had a career year at 25.4 points and 7.1 assists.
After the season ended, both went to bat for Adelman without being asked.
"It's not his fault we couldn't rebound," Jokic said. "It's not his fault we couldn't catch the ball very well. There is nothing to blame David Adelman. It's all us."
Replacing Him Would Undo Everything
Steve Kerr, Tom Thibodeau, and Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori have all been tossed around in replacement talks, and sure, those are real coaches with real resumes.
But hiring any of them would mean forcing Jokic and Murray into a third different system in three years.
Denver's problems are bigger than coaching anyway.
The defense ranked 21st all season, and Murray fell apart in the playoffs, shooting 35.7 percent from the field and just 26.2 percent from three.
Those are roster issues, not coaching issues.
The Nuggets fired their last coach partly to keep this one.
Walking all of that back after a single season would be the front office admitting the entire plan was wrong from the jump.