The Denver Nuggets stunned the basketball world when the club on Tuesday announced the firings of championship-winning coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with the start of the NBA playoffs nearing.
On Wednesday night, three-time MVP and Nuggets franchise superstar Nikola Jokic spoke publicly about the move to fire Malone, who was the only coach he'd had thus far in the NBA.
Jokic, after being asked if he had spoken to Malone, acknowledged how tough the news was for he and others within the organization to take.
"I texted to him," Jokic said. "It was a 10-year relationship, so it was heavy day for everybody, probably especially for him and his family. But I would say it's part of the business."
Jokic said Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke informed him of the decision to fire Malone before the franchise went public with the move.
"I knew a little bit before everybody," Jokic said. "And (Kroenke) told me, ‘We made a decision.’ So it was not a discussion. It was a decision, and he told me why. And so I listened. And I accepted it. I'm not going to tell you what he told me. I'm going to keep that private."
Ultimately, all Jokic and the Nuggets can really do is soldier on. And Denver, powered by yet another Jokic triple-double, did just that with Wednesday's 124-116 win over the Sacramento Kings.
"People say that we were vulnerable, but the beast is always the most dangerous when they’re vulnerable," Jokic said after the win. "Maybe he woke up the beast."
Denver (48-32) has the same record as the Los Angeles Clippers and are currently the fourth seed in the Western Conference due to a tiebreaker over the Clippers. The Nuggets, looking to capture that fourth seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, will play their final two games against playoff-caliber opponents in the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nikola Jokic Reacts to Nuggets' Firing of Michael Malone: 'Heavy Day'.
