The Denver Nuggets made a seismic organizational change on Tuesday, electing to fire head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with mere days remaining in the 2024-25 NBA regular season. The decision came as a complete surprise to the rest of the sports world, given Malone is less than two years removed from bringing the Nuggets their first-ever championship and has Denver situated firmly in the midst of the Western Conference playoff race.
Shortly after the news broke, the Nuggets released a statement that, in part, explained why the decision was made and why it was made right now. It was light on details, but vice chairman of the ownership group, Josh Kroenke (son of principal owner Stan Kroenke) said they made the change to maximize the team's championship hopes this year.
"This decision was not made lightly and was evaluated very carefully, and we do it only with the intention of giving our group the best chance at competing for the 2025 NBA championship and delivering another title to Denver and our fans everywhere," Kroenke said in the statement. "While the timing of this decision is unfortunate, as Coach Malone helped build the foundation of our now championship level program, it is a necessary step to allow us to compete at the highest level right now.
"Championship-level standards and expectations remain in place for the current season, and as we look to the future, we look forward to building on the foundations laid by Coach Malone over his record-breaking 10-year career in Denver."
It may not be the in-depth explanation fans might be hoping for, given the magnitude of the news. But the statement clearly shows the ownership group did not feel a successful playoff run was in the cards this season under Malone.
It's now interim head coach David Adelman's job to prove the Kroenke family right in making this decision. Denver will next take the floor on Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nuggets Ownership Explains Decision to Fire Coach Michael Malone Right Before Playoffs.
