The Denver Nuggets fired both their head coach and general manager on Tuesday with just three games remaining in the regular season, and information is starting to leak out about what led to the stunning move.
The Nuggets announced Tuesday that they had fired both head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth. Malone had been the team’s head coach since the 2015-2016 season and led them to the NBA championship two years ago.
According to a report from The Athletic, Malone and Booth had not been seeing eye-to-eye for quite some time. The two were said to be “at odds over everything from roster construction to the way players were used.” Booth wanted Malone to show more of a commitment to developing younger players, while Malone preferred to lean on his veterans.
One of the reported issues was that Malone insisted on using Russell Westbrook over 25-year-old guard Jalen Pickett down the stretch in recent games. Pickett has seen his role expand this month and played a season-high 35 minutes in last Wednesday’s 113-106 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. He had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the game, all of which were also season-high marks. Pickett has still been playing behind Westbrook, however.
The issues went beyond in-game management. A separate report from DNVR said that Booth hired a shooting coach this season. The move reportedly angered Malone, who told Booth, “I hire coaches.”
Per DNVR:
— SportShorts (@den_shorts) April 8, 2025
Calvin Booth hired a shooting coach named Mike Penberthy, and wanted to rebuild the Nuggets organizationally. Michael Malone initially responded saying "No, that's a Coach…I hire coaches".
One of the many examples of how these two were not on the same page at all.
The Nuggets are 47-32 this season and have lost four games in a row, which left the team’s ownership unsettled. Malone and Booth were likely going to be fired after the season, but owner Josh Kroenke felt the team would benefit from having different leadership in the playoffs this year.
After the announcement was made, Kroenke hinted at one of the reasons Malone was fired so abruptly.
