David Adelman Gives Key Update on Nuggets' Rotation Plans

The Denver Nuggets likely had a feeling that they knew exactly what their rotation would look like heading into the 2026-27 season, but training camp and preseason have certainly changed their minds. Sure, they still have the same group of players who are practically guaranteed minutes, but for a team that wants to run a ten-man rotation, the final spot could get tricky.

After practice on Tuesday, head coach David Adelman gave an update on where the rotation stands, notably saying that he does not want to play any starter alongside the bench guys.

"I'll be honest, right now, I'm trying to figure out our secondary rotation," Adelman said. "... The starters will be fine. I do not want to play a starter with the second unit if I don't have to to start the season. That's the goal right now."

With two preseason games left and nine days until Denver's regular season opener, Adelman has some time to nail down what the second unit will look like. He probably knows who his first nine players will be, but the backup shooting guard seems to be the trickiest spot right now.

Using the final two preseason games

When asked what Adelman will be looking for in these final two preseason games as he tries to figure out the bench rotation, he mentioned "looking for bright spots," with a couple of players already catching his attention.

"I think you're looking for bright spots. I thought Bryce [Hopkins] and Alpha [Diallo] were pretty good in the last game," Adelman said. "But you have to complement that with guys you can run offense through. I think that's going to be the balancing act for us. DeMar [DeRozan]'s gonna play, and what do you put around him?"

DeMar DeRozan will take on a bench role for the first time in his career this season, per HC David Adelman 👀

The Nuggets will figure out how DeRozan fits into the rotation, with different lineups tested throughout the preseason 🤔 pic.twitter.com/tSkkDJ7DHO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 5, 2026

The Nuggets likely have DeRozan, Spencer Jones, and Marvin Bagley III locked into the second unit. As Adelman mentions, he is trying to build the best lineup around DeRozan, noting that he has to decide between having three defenders and two offensive players or vice versa. He has continued to talk about Tyus Jones as the backup ball-handler, loving what he brings in pick-and-roll actions, so we can assume he will get the bulk of second-unit minutes as well.

"When Spencer [Jones] comes back, is it three defensive players with two offensive players? Do you go Tyus [Jones] and Marvin [Bagley] in pick-and-roll, and DeMar's your isolation guy? And then you have to decide: does Julian [Strawther] complement those guys the best? Do you want a defensive player out there? So we're going through all those paces right now as a coaching staff," he said.

All offseason, we assumed Julian Strawther was a shoo-in as a backup wing alongside DeRozan, but Alpha Diallo, Cam Whitmore, and Bryce Hopkins are making legitimate cases. If the Nuggets want more defense out there, it will be impossible to keep Diallo off the floor. If they want some rim pressure and athleticism, Whitmore has proven he can play.

The Nuggets' rotation is certainly not as clean-cut as we expected throughout the offseason, but having some extra depth never hurts. This is not a bad problem to have for the Nuggets, although it could be tricky for Adelman to find the solution.

Sign up for our free Denver Nuggets On SI newsletter, and get breaking Nuggets news delivered to your inbox daily!

Add us as a preferred source on Google