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Latest On Firings Of Nuggets Coach Michael Malone, GM Calvin Booth

April 8th 2025 at 6:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The sudden firings of Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth blindsided virtually everyone around the league, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (video link). Windhorst said the moves were driven by the team’s ownership.

“Extremely shocking you would move on from a coach this late in the season no matter the circumstances, especially when he’s the winningest coach in the history of the team and led you to a championship two years ago, even if there were difficulties in the locker room or within the front office,” Windhorst said. “That he would not be allowed to have the playoffs to try to deal with it is very, very surprising.”

Moving on from Booth was much less eye-opening, except for the timing of the move. In fact, it was anticipated that this would be Booth’s last season in the organization.

“This was less surprising to the league, however, because Calvin Booth’s contract is up after this season. They’ve had negotiations throughout the season and it broke down, it wasn’t going well,” Windhorst said.

There was friction between the coach and GM, mainly due to Booth wanting Malone to play his recent draft picks more often, according to Windhorst.

Here’s more on the Nuggets late-season purge:

  • The remainder of the staff held onto their jobs, at least through the rest of the season, The Athletic trio of Tony Jones, Sam Amick and Zach Powell report. David Adelman was named interim head coach. The assistants are all on expiring deals, however, which signals a much different staff could be in place next season.
  • Expanding on the notion Booth was upset about rotation moves, The Athletic noted that Booth wanted Malone to play Jalen Pickett over Russell Westbrook during the stretch run. Booth was also unhappy that Zeke Nnaji, who was signed to a four-year deal, hasn’t gotten much playing time and that another free agent signee, Dario Saric, fell out of favor with Malone before December.
  • The team’s defensive decline played a significant part in the recent rise in organizational frustration, The Athletic adds. Denver has lost its last four games, mainly due to defensive breakdowns.
  • The coaches were frustrated by, among other things, recent front office-led additions to the coaching staff, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets.
  • Nikola Jokic was informed of the decision earlier today before it was announced, Matt Moore of Action Network tweets. Jokic had not requested a change in the front office or coaching staff, though his frustration with the way the team has performed this season played a role in ownership’s decision-making process.
  • A panel of ESPN insiders shared their thoughts on the firings, including how the moves might affect their playoff run and Jokic’s future, particularly since he’s extension-eligible this offseason.
  • In an interview posted by the team and relayed by Nuggets reporter Katy Winge (Twitter link), team governor Josh Kroenke said he didn’t make a rash decision. “Having observed that group over a period of time there were certain trends that were very worrisome to me at different points in time. But they would get masked by a few wins here and there,” he said.
  • Booth had a diplomatic response to losing his job, Jones tweets. “I don’t have any regrets. I did my job to the best of my ability,” he said.
  • Negotiations between Booth and ownership regarding an extension was at the “one-yard line” early this season before Booth turned down Kroenke’s offer, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post reports.
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