Even though Tom Thibodeau might not have a head coaching job, his assistants are faring pretty well. Thib's head assistant in Chicago, Ron Adams, is now the head assistant for the Golden State Warriors. His other assistant Adrian Griffin has joined Scott Skiles with the Magic. Now Ed Pinckney, another good assistant, is now joining the Nuggets.
Pinckney has a great reputation while he was with the Bulls. He joined Chicago in 2010 and is now leaving after four years. In 2013 he interviewed for the Memphis Grizzlies head coaching job. Like Malone, Pinckney is a defensive-minded coach and can help the Nuggets defense, which needs help. Denver had the 27th ranked defense last year, and with the coaching of the likes of Malone and Pickney, they will certainly do better.
Pinckney learned his trade under Thibodeau and will likely be working with the big men on the team. Pickney was highly regarded for his work with Chicago's bigs like Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson. His work with big men got him to interview with the Grizzlies and got him another assistant job. Expect the likes of Kenneth Faried and Jusuf Nurkic to be better defensively next year.
The Nuggets are far from finished this offseason, however. After drafting Emmanuel Mudiay, Ty Lawson's days in Denver are over. Even Lawson said it himself. The Nuggets still have to find a trade partner for the disgruntled point guard, and they must make some more free agent signings. Signing the likes of Jameer Nelson and Will Barton is not enough.
After a horrible ending in his tenure with the Sacramento Kings, head coach Mike Malone gets a well-deserved second chance with the Nuggets. Hiring Pinckney as his main assistant is a great hire given his track record with the Bulls. The Nuggets need help all around and hiring two defensive coaches in the head coach and main assistant will help turn it around in Denver.