Days After Firing Michael Malone, Denver Nuggets Eyes UConn Coach For The Role

On April 8, Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was fired, just days before the postseason. Malone's firing was tied as the latest in-season change by any team in NBA history, and became the latest for a playoff team. It was quite surprising for many fans given Malone had led the team to seven playoff appearances and a championship in 2023. However, there were reports of growing locker room resentments after a recent Nuggets loss streak that might have contributed to the firing.

For now, assistant coach David Adelman has been announced as the interim head coach. Malone's absence leaves a huge gap in the coaching standards he had set to be filled. It had come down to even Nikola Jokic drawing plays in the Nuggets' recent outing against the Sacramento Kings.

Soon enough, speculations have started emerging for many known names in the coaching world to fill this gap. One of such names was Dan Hurley, who was also linked to the Los Angeles Lakers' head coach hunt last year. Though Hurley remained committed to coaching UConn, this year he might be considering a move to the big leagues of coaching.

Dan Hurley has interest in filling the Denver Nuggets head coaching role

According to league insider Sean Wright, UConn men's team head coach has expressed mutual interest to fill the Denver Nuggets' head coaching role. As per Wright's sources, Nuggets might soon even meet the Nuggets front office to discuss about this potential role. Hurley shot into fame last year for famously rejecting the Los Angeles Lakers' head coaching role.

As a coach, Dan Hurley is directly credited to UConn's rise in the NCAA and is regarded as one of the faces of college basketball. Just last year, he had led the Huskies to consecutive NCAA titles (2023, 2024) and had earned the prestigious Naismith Coach of the Year and Big East Coach of the Year awards.

Hurley's successes attracted him enough attention from the NBA, especially big market franchises such as the Lakers. However, after days of speculations and negotiations, Hurley turned down the offer, remaining another year with UConn. Since then, most fans treat any speculation related to him with a slight pinch of salt.

However, it could be so Dan Hurley has changed his mind. Earlier, he had cited he was happy with his $32.1 million contract extension to remain in UConn and would not use negotiations with a NBA team to leverage getting a better offer.

Many Denver fans think Dan Hurley's coaching style and mentality would not fit well with the Nuggets. Hurley is a tough coach like Malone, who although had a great winning percentage and success rate, players had started to grow resentment against. This is also believed to be one of the reasons why Malone was fired from his head coaching role.

However, with Hurley, fans once again speculate about a potential ‘leverage play,’ as even former ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski had also reported. Perhaps, there might be an update very soon as the Nuggets just have two regular seasons games left before the postseason. For a successful playoff campaign, it would be crucial for the Nuggets to find someone to fill for their GM and head coach positions sooner as it can get.