For any $n$-tuple $a=(a_1,a_2,\ldots,a_n)\in\mathbb{N}_0^n$ of nonnegative integers, let $d_a$ denote the number of pairs of indices $(i,j)$ such that $a_i-a_j=1.$ Determine the maximum possible value of $d_a$ as $a$ ranges over all elements of $\mathbb{N}_0^n.$