The Denver Nuggets have fired head coach Michael Malone, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday, in another shocking coaching carousel with less than one week left before the postseason.
Malone’s firing came after the Memphis Grizzlies also fired Jenkins Taylor just 11 days ago. The decision to fire Malone is so shocking as the Nuggets are vying for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with three games left in the regular season.
The 53-year-old Malone leaves Denver with a 471-327 record as the winningest coach in franchise history. He is just two seasons removed from leading the franchise to their first-ever NBA championship.
Charania quickly added that team manager Calvin Booth, the architect of their championship run, was also fired.
Nuggets lead assistant David Adelman will serve as an interim coach, according to Charania.
Denver has lost its last four games to fall from No. 2 to No. 4 in the stacked Western Conference. The Nuggets trail the Los Angeles Lakers 1 1/2 games for the No. 3 seed with the seventh-strongest remaining schedule, per Tankathon.
Charania reported that Malone was called to a meeting and subsequently dismissed.
Adelman will begin coaching the Nuggets against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Their last two games in the regular season will be against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets on Sunday.
Malone, Booth ‘Never Liked’ Each Other
The firing of the coach and the general manager at the same time came as a shock to everyone.
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, who wrote a controversial profile on Booth while he was still with The Ringer, wrote that the two men never liked each other in his reaction post on X.
“Absolutely nuts. Booth and Malone never liked each other, rarely spoke, and talked behind each other’s backs. With the team struggling on the court, Nuggets ownership decided to fire both. Insane,” O’Connor wrote.
Booth and Malone have butted heads over roster construction as the former pushed for the younger players to get more playing time while the latter wanted to lean more on veterans.
Zach Lowe, formerly of ESPN, reported this divide between Malone and Booth in his now-defunct “Lowe Post” podcast last year.
“There are rumblings,” Lowe said at the time. “Rumblings! That the coaching staff and front office, or at least the head coach and the front office, aren’t exactly seeing eye to eye in Denver. To a degree even unusual for the NBA.”
Calvin Booth’s Controversial Quote
In the controversial profile of Booth on The Ringer published in 2023, Booth discussed the Bones Hyland trade by referring to the traded guard and Michael Porter Jr. as defensive liabilities.
“I knew you couldn’t have two guys that couldn’t guard, and we couldn’t have two guys that were young and kind of more ‘me guys,’” Booth was quoted in The Ringer. “Mike makes $30 million. He’s one of the best shooters in the NBA. So, Bones, there’s no place for you.”
Booth later claimed that O’Connor published quotes that were not intended for the public.
“Under no circumstances would I make or approve of those kind of comments for public consumption,” Booth said on ESPN2. “It’s not my character as a person or executive, and I think it’s an unfair characterization of Michael and Bones. I think Bones is a great kid, has a bright future ahead of him, a charismatic player in our game. And obviously, Michael is a core piece of our program with his character and offensive and defensive prowess. So I think that was unfair for those things to be put out there and hopefully it doesn’t happen in the future.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Nuggets Fire Coach, GM in Shocking Move: Report appeared first on Heavy Sports.