Nuggets To Hire Dave Joerger As Top Assistant Coach

The Nuggets will hire Dave Joerger to be the top assistant coach under head coach David Adelman, Shams Charania of ESPN reports (via Twitter).

Marc Stein reported a couple weeks ago that Denver was viewed as an “increasingly likely” landing spot for Joerger, who has been an NBA assistant or head coach since 2007. Joerger interviewed in June for the lead assistant position, as Stein previously reported.

Joerger, who also drew interest from Australia’s Melbourne United and EuroLeague team Paris Basketball, decided to stay in the NBA in an assistant role rather than making the move overseas.

The 52-year-old spent several years as an assistant in Memphis before being promoted to the Grizzlies’ head coach in the 2013 offseason. He compiled a 147-99 record (.598 win-loss percentage) in three years as the Grizzlies top coach, making the playoffs on each occasion, before being let go in May 2016.

Joerger was quickly hired by Sacramento and spent the next three seasons as the Kings’ head coach, going 98-148 (.398) before being dismissed in 2019. He has spent the past several years as an assistant in Philadelphia and — most recently — Milwaukee.

The Nuggets have been looking for an experienced No. 2 coach under Adelman, a longtime assistant who took over as Denver’s head coach when Michael Malone was fired last April. The Nuggets went 54-28 last season and entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference, but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Minnesota.