The NBA world got some shocking news on Tuesday afternoon, and Minnesota Timberwolves fans were just as surprised as anyone else. Shams Charania reported that the Denver Nuggets were officially firing head coach Michael Malone, with just three games remaining on their regular season schedule.
This was one of the latest times into a season a coach had been fired in NBA history, and it is hard to wrap our heads around why such a move may have happened. Heading into Tuesday night's NBA action, Denver was tied for fourth place in the Western Conference, and they had a shot at making another deep playoff run with Malone at the helm. Now, it is easy to see things becoming more difficult for them as they navigate the playoffs without their championship-winning coach.
With Malone now headed out the door for the Nuggets, Denver will be appointing a new figure to assume head coaching duties for the remainder of the season, and it is someone Timberwolves fans may be familiar with: David Adelman. If the name rings a bell, it is because David is the son of Rick Adelman, who was the head coach in Minnesota from 2011 until 2014.
Rick Adelman's son, David, will now coach the Denver Nuggets
Obviously, those were seasons that most Wolves fans would probably like to forget, given that the team failed to secure a winning record in any of his three seasons at the helm. Not everyone may remember this, but David was actually part of Minnesota's staff as well. He served as a player development assistant from 2011 until 2016, first under his father and then under Flip Saunders and Sam Mitchell.
David Adelman will be leading the Nuggets for at least the rest of the current season, and possibly beyond that as well. What does this mean? It means that the Timberwolves may have an advantage if they end up matching up with Denver in the playoffs. Although skilled in his own right, Adelman has never been a head coach at the professional level before. Minnesota could end up with an obvious upper hand from a coaching standpoint in a potential playoff series.
The Timberwolves already have some recent and significant history with the Nuggets in the playoffs, and the Adelman aspect just adds another layer to this story. If they weren't already, Minnesota should likely now be hoping for a matchup with Denver in the first round.