As I watched the Lakers whiff on UConn’s Dan Hurley last weekend in the latest chapter of a coaching search melodramatic enough to warrant a Hollywood screenplay, I kept wondering: What about David Adelman?
Hurley’s candidacy emerged abruptly and escalated hastily. A cross-country flight to Los Angeles. A reported six-year, $70 million contract offer. Public comments to ESPN acknowledging his temptation to accept the job, and publicity stolen from the NBA Finals. Then ultimately, a rejection, with extension talks on deck in Connecticut.
What just happened? Did the Lakers get played? How much of Hurley’s supposed interest was genuine, and how much of it was smoke and mirrors? Where does previously presumed frontrunner JJ Redick fit in all of this?
The whole ordeal cycled Los Angeles back to the beginning of the process — only this time, all the candidates know they’re a second choice at best.
Adelman is accustomed to that by now. Denver’s lead assistant has been looked at by several NBA organizations with head coaching vacancies the last couple of seasons, but he hasn’t broken through despite rave reviews from players. In recent months, he has interviewed with the Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers and, yes, Los Angeles Lakers, league sources confirmed to The Denver Post.
Hiring Adelman would be neither as flashy as Hurley, an animated sideline presence and two-time defending NCAA champion, nor as bold as Redick, an ESPN color commentator without coaching experience who also happens to be LeBron James’ current podcast partner. (“Minding the Game” is a very informative show, for what it’s worth.) They make a fitting pair of prominent candidates. The Lakers’ style tends to be flashy and bold.
But Adelman fits the profile of a top applicant, not a backup. He’s the highest-ranking assistant coach for a franchise that won the championship a year ago, the “offensive coordinator” for a team widely regarded to have one of the best schematic identities in the league. He’s both young in NBA coaching terms at 43 — the average age of current head coaches is 50.6 — and experienced enough to take the next step, with more than a decade in the league. Charles Lee, the Celtics’ 39-year-old lead assistant, landed the job in Charlotte. Up-and-coming, successful assistants are a popular archetype in coaching searches. Not just in basketball.
The Nuggets have known for a while now that it’s only a matter of time before Adelman moves on. They advocate for him every chance they get. “D.A. could be a head coach anywhere in the league,” Aaron Gordon told The Post this season after Adelman led Denver to a win in which Michael Malone was ejected. “He deserves a head coach job. We’re lucky that he’s with us. We’re happy that he’s with us, for times like this.”
“David is a head coach-in-waiting,” Malone said during the second round of the playoffs.
His coaching tree has continued to spread this offseason. Ex-carpool buddy and current Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori gained momentum as another Lakers candidate after walking the sidelines for Minnesota in the playoffs, while an injured Chris Finch (also of the Malone tree) was stuck on the bench. Former longtime Nuggets staffer Jordi Fernandez landed his first head coaching job in April, taking over the Brooklyn Nets. Adelman is understood to be next in line.
Maybe the Lakers wouldn’t be the right fit for him. They’re Showtime. He’s understated. They’re in a win-now window with championship expectations despite four consecutive seasons of either being a play-in team or missing the postseason entirely. Coaches are often scapegoats, but in that environment especially, they’re set up for minimal credit and a majority of the blame. Since Phil Jackson, the Lakers have cycled through six head coaches. None of their tenures has lasted longer than 250 games. Combine that with the pressure of shepherding Los Angeles through the final years of LeBron’s career, and the baggage is immense. Plenty of coaches wouldn’t want to wade into that.
Then again, a head coaching job is a head coaching job. Someone seeking their first foray into this profession might have a different perspective from someone like Hurley, who had a lot to lose walking away from an NCAA three-peat opportunity. Maybe the Lakers are high-risk, but they’re undoubtedly high-reward as well.
Either way, here’s what confuses me — and the reason I’m focusing on Los Angeles rather than Cleveland’s opening. Why wouldn’t the Lakers relish the opportunity to poach a valuable assistant from the team that has thwarted their playoff ambitions in back-to-back seasons? Even with the Nuggets expecting Adelman to leave for greener pastures eventually, stealing from their coaching staff seems like a natural way to kill two birds with one stone. Hire a promising individual; destabilize the obstacle you can’t overcome. Remember, Denver has won 12 of the last 13 head-to-head matchups, in part thanks to superior late-game offensive scheme and execution. Why wouldn’t Adelman be a more high-priority target?
Several teams could have hired him by now. Eventually one will. But after Darvin Ham’s firing, the Lakers seemed to me like a more obvious suitor than most. Instead, they’ve tripped over their own feet with a public rejection from a high-profile figure. And if Adelman is still in Denver by the end of this round of coaching roulette, he’ll probably be gone by the end of the next one anyway.
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