The Nuggets will not renew the contracts for several assistants on their coaching staff, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is parting ways with the following coaches:
- Ryan Saunders, a Nuggets assistant since 2022 who previously worked for the Wizards and Timberwolves, including a stint as the head coach in Minnesota.
- Popeye Jones, a former NBA forward who has spent the past four seasons as a Nuggets assistant and nearly two decades on NBA coaching staffs.
- Charles Klask, who worked for the Pistons and Nets before being hired as a Nuggets assistant in 2018.
- Stephen Graham, a former NBA wing who has been a player development coach in Denver since 2016.
An overhaul of the Nuggets’ coaching staff had been expected after longtime coach Michael Malone was let go in April with less than a week left in the regular season.
Lead assistant David Adelman, who replaced Malone, led the Nuggets to a first-round series win over the Clippers and pushed the 68-win Thunder to a Game 7 in round two before Denver was eliminated.
Adelman’s audition for the job earned him the permanent position, and Nuggets vice chairman Josh Kroenke confirmed last week that he would be “absolutely” be given the opportunity to fill out his own staff. Reports at that time noted that most of Denver’s assistants were on expiring contracts.