The Denver Nuggets fired head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth earlier this week in a move that shocked many. It was well-known around league circles that the coach and GM did not get along and the team hoped that shaking things up this late in the season might inspire a playoff run.
After the firings, one of the first things that came out was that Booth and Malone had disagreed with the coach's insistence on sticking with Russell Westbrook. It turns out that Booth wasn't the only one bothered by Malone's treatment of the veteran point guard. According to The Athletic, Westbrook was a big "lightning rod" for players as well.
All the while, Malone’s choice to continue supporting Westbrook — despite the frustration he was causing on and off the floor — ultimately led to a loss of credibility among the team’s key players. It was one thing when Malone handled Jokić and Murray with more leniency than the rest of their group, but affording Westbrook that sort of treatment, even with his Hall of Fame resume, wasn’t received well by some.
That dynamic intensified recently, starting with Westbrook’s meltdown against Minnesota on April 1 in which his late-game blunders cost Denver the win and spoiled Jokić’s 60-point triple-double. After a brutal Jokić turnover late in a loss to Indiana on Sunday, when he and Westbrook miscommunicated up top and the big man’s pass flew out of bounds, Malone defended his veteran point guard in a way that was seen by some as a shot at the team’s young talents.
Westbrook infamously missed a huge layup that helped the Nuggets blow a game in which Nikola Jokic had a 60-point triple-double. Westbrook was benched in favor of Jalen Pickett.
On Wednesday night in David Adelman's first game as coach Westbrook was on the bench down the stretch of a win over the Sacramento Kings.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nuggets Players Also Disagreed With Michael Malone’s Treatment of Russell Westbrook.
