Nuggets reportedly retaining David Adelman, taking calls on anybody but Nikola Jokić

There’s a reckoning due in Denver after a stunning first-round playoff loss to a Minnesota Timberwolves team that played two-plus games without Anthony Edwards and Donte Divincenzo.

Per multiple reports, it won’t come on the sideline. Nuggets head coach David Adelman is expected to return next season according to the Denver Post’s Bennett Durando and ESPN’s Shams Charania. But anybody not named Nikola Jokić on the roster is expected to be expendable.

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Per Charania, the Nuggets are expected to field calls this offseason for any player but Jokić. This includes Jamal Murray, Jokić’s two-man partner who helped lead the Nuggets to their first and only NBA championship in 2023.

Jokić, meanwhile, is expected to sign a four-year, roughly $290 million extension this summer, according to Charania. On the heels of the disappointing playoff loss, the Nuggets are under pressure to rebuild a contender around their three-time MVP for the remainder of his prime.

Denver attempted to do so last offseason after a seven-game loss to the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs. They traded away Michael Porter Jr. in a move that triggered an effort to build needed depth around Denver’s talented starting five.

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But that depth frequently failed to surface in Denver’s playoff loss to Minnesota and was further tested by injuries to Peyton Watson and Aaron Gordon. Watson missed the entire series with a hamstring injury, and Gordon missed Games 3, 5 and 6 with a calf strain, exacerbating an injury-plagued season that limited him to 36 regular season games.

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As Minnesota took control of the series from Game 2 on, the Nuggets ran an inconsistent cast of bench players that failed to find reliable production the bench and their role players.

By the end of games against the Timberwolves, Jokić and Murray frequently looked gassed. Each played arguably the worst playoff series of his career against a swarming Minnesota defense.

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The Timberwolves, meanwhile, exposed Denver’s lack…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nuggets-reportedly-retaining-david-adelman-taking-calls-on-anybody-but-nikola-jokic-011029689.html

Author : Jason Owens

Publish date : 2026-05-04 01:10:00

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