NBA Rumors: Two trending reasons that may have led the Denver Nuggets decision to fire head coach Mike Malone.
In a season full of surprises, the hits just keep coming. The latest wave of shocking news came via the Denver Nuggets earlier this week as they made the decision to clean house - first with firing head coach Mike Malone and then general manager Calvin Booth. While both moves are expected to have a huge impact in Denver's future, there's no question that the decision to move on from Malone is the bigger story here.
As you would expect, there are already some whispers as to why Malone may have been fired. Of note, two of them tend to stand out. The first revolves around the frustration from the front office with Malone's lack of willingness to play some of their young players over established veterans who were struggling. According to a report from The Athletic, the front office was "dismayed" that Malone continued to play Westbrook (in the midst of his struggles) over a young player like Jalen Pickett.
Another reported grievance involved some of the non-star players being rubbed the wrong way with the special treatment that Malone would offer Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray by not being hard on them. While it's hard to blame Malone for this move, especially considering how important of a role both Jokic and Murray played for the Nuggets on their way to a championship a couple of years ago, it's easy to see how this could create a schism in the locker room.
Did the Denver Nuggets make the right move?
At the end of the day, the Nuggets' decision-makers made their bed and chose to go down this route. The timing is the truly confusing part of all this. The Nuggets didn't just decide to fire Malone, they also effectively made the decision to punt on the remainder of this season.
As talented of a team the Nuggets are, I have a hard time envisioning this team being able to make a champioship run with an interim head coach - especially one that took over the reins a week before the start of the NBA Playoffs. Have similar moves been made and paid out for teams? Sure. However, the Nuggets will certainly have an uphill climb if they want to defy the odds this season.
From a big picture perspective, this is the type of move that also complicates the future. Could the Nuggets have had grounds to fire Malone? Sure. However, I'm not sure if the timing is something that's going to help this team close out the season strong. If anything, it adds more questions about this team's future moving forward.