The Nuggets Promised Change. So Why Does This Still Feel Like the Malone Era?
When the Denver Nuggets moved on from Michael Malone and handed the clipboard to David Adelman, the message was clear: change was coming. A new voice.
A fresh perspective. And, perhaps most importantly, a real commitment to developing the young talent the front office had been stockpiling through the draft.
“Internal development” was the buzzword of the offseason - a philosophy that supposedly guided the team’s decision-making before the Michael Porter Jr.-for-Cam Johnson trade. But five months into the Adelman era, it’s starting to feel like we’ve seen this movie before.
Déjà Vu in the Rotation
Aaron Gordon’s hamstring injury created a golden opportunity to shake things up - to give some run to Da’Ron Holmes, the 2024 first-round pick who’s been turning heads in the G League. Instead? Adelman has leaned on Spencer Jones, a two-way player ineligible for the postseason, and Zeke Nnaji, a familiar face who’s yet to prove he belongs in a consistent NBA rotation.
Sound familiar? That’s because it is.
This was the same kind of roster management that haunted the Malone years - a reluctance to trust young players, even when the moment calls for it. That tension between player development and veteran loyalty is part of what ultimately cost Malone his job.
And yet, here we are again.
Malone’s Mixed Bag with Young Talent
To be fair, Malone’s legacy with young players isn’t all bad. He helped mold Gary Harris into one of the league’s better perimeter defenders.
He guided Jamal Murray from a streaky rookie into a championship-caliber point guard. And he was one of the first to recognize the generational talent in Nikola Jokic.
But for every success story, there were just as many missed opportunities.
Emmanuel Mudiay never found his rhythm. Jusuf Nurkic asked out after being benched.
Malik Beasley barely saw the floor before being traded and thriving elsewhere. And who could forget Malone’s stubborn insistence on playing Torrey Craig over Michael Porter Jr., even when the upside was obvious?
Malone valued experience - sometimes to a fault. As the Nuggets evolved from a young team with potential into a title contender, that preference became more rigid.
Understandable? Sure.
But costly in the long run.
Championship teams need veterans, no doubt. You don’t win in May and June with a roster full of rookies.
But you also don’t build sustainable success by ignoring the development pipeline. You have to find out what you’ve got - and when you’ve got a chance to do it in low-stakes moments, you take it.
Imagine if Malone had given Jalen Pickett the minutes that went to Collin Gillespie, a two-way player, last season. Pickett, a player the front office specifically wanted to see developed, might’ve shown flashes of what Gillespie has since displayed in Phoenix. And maybe, just maybe, Jamal Murray wouldn’t be logging such heavy minutes every night.
Adelman’s Early Decisions Raising Eyebrows
Now, under Adelman, we’re seeing some of those same patterns repeat - particularly in the case of Da’Ron Holmes.
Holmes was the 22nd overall pick in the 2024 draft. He missed his rookie season recovering from a torn Achilles, but he came back with a vengeance this summer, dominating in Summer League with near 20-20 stat lines.
Since then, he’s been lighting up the G League, averaging 19.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists over eight games. He’s shown rebounding instincts, passing vision, and downhill scoring that make him a legitimate NBA prospect.
So when Gordon went down with a hamstring strain - an injury expected to sideline him for four to six weeks - the move seemed obvious. Give Holmes a shot.
See how he handles real NBA minutes. Let him grow through the process.
Instead, Adelman turned to Nnaji and Jones.
Nnaji has had years to prove himself and has yet to carve out a meaningful role. Jones, for all his hustle and energy, isn’t eligible for the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Holmes - a player the front office clearly believes in - continues to sit. And the question becomes: if not now, when?
When the games matter more? When the margin for error is even thinner?
The Clock Is Ticking
The Nuggets don’t need Holmes to be a finished product right now. But they do need to find out what he is - and what he could be.
Every game he sits is a missed opportunity to evaluate, to develop, to plan for the future. And every minute that goes to Nnaji instead is a reminder that lessons from the Malone era may not have been fully learned.
Holmes deserves a real shot - not garbage time, not a few token possessions, but meaningful minutes against real NBA competition. Let him make mistakes.
Let him learn. Let him show whether he can contribute to winning basketball.
Because the longer the Nuggets delay that process, the more likely they are to waste another year of Nikola Jokic’s prime chasing a title with a short bench and a shallow developmental pool.
Denver promised something different. So far, it’s looking a little too familiar.