The Denver Nuggets have put a lot of faith in head coach David Adelman, who took over as interim head coach of the team after Michael Malone was fired midseason in 2024 and has been head coach ever since, entering into his second full season in 2026-27. 

Adelman is certainly inexperienced as this is his first head coaching job in the NBA, though he does have a wealth experience in his career as an assistant coach and his upbringing as the son of the late Rick Adelman, a Hall of Fame NBA head coach and former player himself. 

So far in a little over one full season, David Adelman has had a successful run and boasts a 57-28 record at the helm of the Nuggets, but at the same time Denver hasn't had any meaningful playoff success so far under him and were recently embarrassed as first-round exits against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs. 

Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman reacts against the Golden State Warriors during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

With all of those factors in mind, the Nuggets may do well to bring in a strong support staff around Adelman to help him reach new heights and according a report from Marc Stein, that's exactly what the Denver front office plans on doing.

“The Nuggets have indeed publicly backed David Adelman to return for his second full season as their coach in 2026-27, but The Stein Line has learned that Denver is actively seeking to install a former NBA head coach as a top assistant on Adelman's staff to provide an injection of experience," Stein wrote.

Denver has supported Adelman publicly and the fact that the team has brought him back for another season at all is a sign that the team believes in him and what he's capable of as a leader, but the idea of the team also wanting someone with head coaching experience says a lot itself about what the Nuggets think of Adelman.

It seems that the potential that's there with him, especially with his technical mind and the way that he showed his adaptability in his rotations with the amount of injuries that the Nuggets suffered this past season and the different lineups that Adelman had to play in response, but franchise leadership may think that Adelman needs to take some steps along the way to transform as a leader. 

It's not certain who exactly the Nuggets may be pursuing for an assistant coaching role, but if it help take Adleman take the next level as a head coach, it could bea worthwhile