Nuggets Emerging as Landing Spot for Former NBA Head Coach

The Denver Nuggets have been previously rumored to have interest in adding an experienced head coach on their staff leading into next season.

That hire wouldn't be in an effort to try and find a replacement while waiting for their current head coach, David Adelman. Instead, it would be to add an experienced assistant who's been in his shoes, and bring in someone who could elevate the Nuggets' young and promising head coach.

And it seems like, while that hire is yet to be official, the Nuggets have a favorite in the running as someone they could have interest in bringing aboard their staff.

Dave Joerger Becoming Increasingly Likely to Land With Nuggets

According to NBA insider Marc Stein on The Stein Line, the Nuggets have become an "increasingly likely landing spot" for Dave Joerger, who was last head coach of the Sacramento Kings from 2016 to 2019, as well as the Memphis Grizzlies from 2013 to 2016.

"Denver is seen as an increasingly likely landing spot for former Grizzlies and Kings coach Dave Joerger," Stein wrote. "The Stein Line first reported in late June that Joerger had interviewed with the Nuggets in their search for a more experienced top assistant to head coach David Adelman."

"Paris Basketball, whose front office is headed by former Timberwolves lead executive David Kahn, was seen as the top threat to Denver after so openly chasing Joerger to be its next head coach, but a BasketNews report from Europe suggested that the French club has struggled in its bid to lure Joerger away from the NBA."

Joerger, while not being named a head coach for a team for the last five seasons, has still been around the NBA in an assistant role since being let go from Sacramento.

From 2020 to 2023, Joerger was an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers, and has also spent the last two seasons since 2024 on the Milwaukee Bucks' staff. Four of those five seasons have been on winning, playoff-level teams, with the lone exception being last year's Milwaukee roster.

Feb 6, 2019; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Dave Joerger looks on from the sideline during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

With that recent success as an assistant, and having time spent as a head coach, that also seems to have captured the attention of clubs overseas––namely Paris Basketball, who has reportedly been in the hunt to add Joerger as their own head coach earlier this offseason.

However, Joerger appears to have no clear desire to leave the NBA, and would instead rather reclaim his footing as a head coach by rising up the assistant ranks in the States, rather than getting that promotion overseas in Europe.

With that in mind, Joerger and Denver migh justt be a mutual fit for one another. He could be a nice piece to add to the Nuggets' coaching puzzle, which already has a considerable share of notable names on Adelman's staff as it is.

Two former NBA players, Jared Dudley and J.J. Barea, were a part of last year's group in Denver in key assistant roles, with Dudley even getting some looks as a head coach with the Portland Trail Blazers earlier this offseason.

But with Joerger's coaching mind and extra dose of experience, his presence could be a valuable addition to the crew that Denver already has onboard their sidelines to get the most out of David Adelman in what could be a pivotal year for his time with the Nuggets.

That relies on whether or not the team can meet their high expectations to reach deeper into the postseason than they did this past year with their first-round exit to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Joerger's presence as an assistant could be a minor, yet impactful push to make that happen.

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