Former Nuggets head coach Michael Malone had lost the support of virtually the entire locker room by the time he and general manager Calvin Booth were fired earlier this week, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (subscription required) reports within an investigation of what went wrong in Denver.
Malone was a strong-willed coach whose emotions varied greatly depending on whether the team won or lost, sources tell Fischer. Many players found that experience grating and began to tune him out.
“I can’t say any player was vouching for him,” one source told Fischer, while another said “this thing is broken” after a loss to Indiana last week.
As several other reports have indicated, Malone and Booth had a strained relationship and rarely communicated other than to discuss matters involving the team. Booth turned down a contract extension prior to the season, believing it was below his market value, and it was widely believed that Malone’s time in Denver would have ended this offseason if Booth had accepted the offer and remained GM.
Much of their conflict stemmed from Malone’s preference to rely on experienced veterans at the expense of younger talent, which Fischer notes is a practice that pre-dates Booth’s arrival to the team. Fischer points to Isaiah Hartenstein, one of the most sought-after free agents on last year’s market, as the best example. Hartenstein could have developed into a reliable backup for Nikola Jokic, but Malone only used him in 30 games during the 2020/21 season before he was traded to Cleveland at the deadline.
A similar situation played out last year with Jay Huff, who has blossomed this season in Memphis. Sources tell Fischer that Booth and assistant general manager Tommy Balcetis both implored Malone to play Huff, who was on a two-way contract at the time, but he only got into 20 games and averaged 2.5 minutes per night.
Fischer points out that despite their animosity, Malone and Booth were able to produce the most successful seasons in Nuggets history, winning the NBA title in 2023 and matching the franchise record for victories with 57 last year.
Much of the frustration stemmed from Malone’s refusal to give regular minutes to the young players Booth brought in after Bruce Brown, Jeff Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left in free agency. Fischer notes that Booth had a sign-and-trade opportunity with the Mavericks last summer involving Caldwell-Pope, but he didn’t want to strengthen the roster of the defending Western Conference champions.
The Nuggets were quiet at this year’s trade deadline, as Booth said potential deals would have to involve Zeke Nnaji‘s $8.8MM salary and Dario Saric‘s $5.1MM. Fischer hears that Denver expressed interest in several players — including Terance Mann, who was ultimately dealt to Atlanta — but Booth felt the price was too high and many potential trading partners shied away from Saric because he holds a player option for next season.
The front office also considered trade options that would turn Michael Porter Jr.‘s $36MM salary into multiple players on lesser deals, according to Fischer. He adds that it never got past the conceptual stage, noting that the Kroenkes are fond of Porter because he’s a Missouri alum just like they are, and they’re considered unlikely to trade him away.
Nuggets players are more supportive of interim coach David Adelman, and Fischer hears that he’ll get a chance to keep the job on a permanent basis. Fischer notes that Booth wasn’t immediately replaced, but sources tell him the team will conduct a search for a new head of basketball operations while keeping most of the current front office together. Fischer mentions Minnesota general manager Matt Lloyd as a name to watch.
The biggest question hanging over the Nuggets as the season winds down is whether Jokic might grow tired of all the chaos and ask for a trade. Fischer states that the three-time MVP has shown no indication of wanting out, but adds that rival teams are sure to be calling with offers this summer.
Get rid of yelling coaches.
I’m not saying these guys should have kept their jobs. But I can’t help but wonder how much the Kroenke’s being cheap caused the issues with the roster. If they aren’t so cheap can they just keep the vets like Brown, Green and KCP? And if so does that minimize the issue with needing to play the young players?
Obviously I don’t know for sure but all the stuff coming out about this really reads like spin from the organization. Makes me so super skeptical about it personally.
They had no chance with Brown since they were maxed at offering 7M and he got 22M so that was going to happen that way no matter what. His bigger fault was Reggie Jackson and Saric being terrible signings but the only non min they could do, and trading future draft assets to draft what mostly look like busts.
You are correct about the Brown signing but they also could have gotten creative. Signing 1+1 contracts to get early bird rights for example. That would have allowed for a much larger salary the following off season. I’m also curious about the sign and trade option with Dallas. Not even using that as a means to get something, even if it meant jiat having tradeable salaries to improve the team later seems odd. To me it says either Booth is worse then I thought or another example of the Kroenke’s being cheap.
I’m not sure I would call their young players busts. Braun especially.
But he definitely messed up the signigns you mentioned.
Huh? The Nuggets have one of the highest payrolls in the sport. How is that “cheap”?
The owners being cheap is quite well documented. Underpaying executives is one example, which it sounds like they tried to do with Booth. Apparently that is also why Connelly left.
Really loved Malone as a coach and enjoyed his brash personality at the helm of the team the last 10 years, but the lingering, glaring hole at the backup center spot in the Jokic era is pretty indicting when you had multiple players at the position who went on to immediate success on other teams. Wish he could’ve gone out on better terms but can’t shake the feeling it was the right move (timing be damned).
What is this clamoring about 6ppg Jay Huff, it’s insufferable. Malone could be fired for a bunch of ridiculous reasons, but not developing Jay Huff…? That’s complete nonsense.
Jokic plays 37 minutes a night. No one is going to play behind him and “develop”. Jokic’s backup is irrelevant, it’s why DeAndre Jordan still cashes an NBA paycheck.
Acting like Hartenstein not playing 11 minutes a night for the Nuggets is a fireable offense is dumb. Pretending if Jokic goes down, Jay Huff of all NBA players, somehow replaces the MVP production of Jokic is equally absurd.
Those are unnecessary, Mavericks-esqe levels of justification. If Jokic gets hurt, you’re not a championship contender. Hartenstein and Huff don’t change that fact whether they are in Denver or not.
The Nuggets are getting killed in the non-Jokic minutes – the +/- drop off is near historical. Those 11 minutes actually do matter, and have been the direct cause of quite a few losses this season.
Yeah I’d say those differences for non-Jokic minutes are more max contract Jamal Murray’s fault than anyone else. When your PG makes more than the GM and HC combined, I think you can expect him to carry your offense for 11 minutes a night.
Again, if you take the literal best basketball player on the planet off the floor, you should expect to be worse. Huff and/or Hartenstein do not change that. And their absence isn’t the reason for you losing games.
It’s comical to hear the notions being floated by the Kroenke & Co. to justify the Malone and Booth firings.
The Booth firing wasn’t even a firing (Booth choose not to resign at Kroenke’s bargain basement price, so he was leaving June 30th anyway). The announced “firing” a few months ahead of time was Kroenke’s way of pretending it was his decision. The custom is just to say the parties will part ways at the end of the season. Anyway, if Booth was so bad, then why was there an extension on the table for almost a year?
Malone’s sin was just being a real coach, which is always dangerous in the NBA, but particularly here with the owner having left his young clueless kid in charge. Kroenke can float all the nonsense he wants, it’s 2k’ers like him, not NBA players, that have problems with coaches like Malone. Of course, any voice, particularly a loud one, can get tiresome. But if it was really about a change being needed there, then he would have been fired at the end of the season, not 3 games before the playoffs start. This wasn’t about basketball or something that came from the players.
Don’t worry Braun is the sixth man, don’t worry he is now the starter, don’t worry he will coach us next smh. Booths approach