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The Denver Nuggets drew widespread criticism this week following the abrupt firing of head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth on Tuesday. Malone, the franchise’s winningest coach, was dismissed despite the team remaining in the playoff picture with just two games left in the regular season.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelburne, the decision was made as part of an internal effort to inject urgency into a struggling team amid a four-game losing streak. The report revealed discontent among those close to the organization regarding how the situation was handled.
“It's just so disrespectful,” one source close to the situation told ESPN. “That's not how you treat a championship coach.”
Malone, 53, joined the Nuggets in 2015 and compiled a 471-327 regular-season record, winning 59.0 percent of his games. He led Denver to the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, including the franchise’s first NBA championship in 2023 after defeating the Miami Heat in the Finals. Malone also posted a 44-36 record in the postseason.
Following Malone’s dismissal, the team named lead assistant David Adelman as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Nikola Jokic, Josh Kroenke address Michael Malone’s firing as Nuggets enter critical season finale
Star center Nikola Jokic spoke publicly about the firing after the team’s 124-116 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.
“He told me, ‘We made a decision.' So it was not a discussion. It was a decision,” Jokic said. “He told me why. And so I listened. And I accepted it.”
Team president Josh Kroenke explained the rationale behind the decision to part ways with Malone as the regular season neared its conclusion.
“We wanted to try to figure out a way to squeeze as much juice out of the rest of the season as possible,” Kroenke said. “Let's try to shake this tree and squeeze as much out of it as we can.”
The move to fire Malone, who had become a fixture on the Denver sideline over the past decade, came at a critical juncture. The Nuggets currently sit fourth in the Western Conference with a 48-32 record, holding a narrow one-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies (47-33) and Minnesota Timberwolves (47-33), who are pushing to move out of the Play-In Tournament range.
Denver will close its regular season with two important games that will determine their seeding. The Nuggets will host the Grizzlies on Friday at 9:00 p.m. ET before traveling to face the Houston Rockets (52-28) on Sunday afternoon.
Malone’s exit marks the end of an era in Denver, where he was credited with developing a strong culture centered around Jokic and the team’s rise to contention. The organization’s decision has raised questions about its direction moving forward, especially given the timing and abrupt nature of the firing.
