Head coaches around the NBA were reminded of their expendability on Tuesday when the Denver Nuggets shockingly fired longtime head coach Michael Malone, as well as general manager Calvin Booth. Notably, Malone's exit comes just two years after the Nuggets won the NBA title in 2023, and with just three games left in the regular season. The team is currently fifth in the Western Conference.
In somewhat of an echo of comments from Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, Golden State Warriors HC Steve Kerr then had quite the dark/existential—but also realistic—reaction to the news, which also arrived not long after the Memphis Grizzlies canned Taylor Jenkins at the end of March.
"Shocked, like everyone," Kerr said of his reaction, speaking ahead of the Dubs' Tuesday contest vs. the Phoenix Suns. "Mike has obviously been a great, great coach—championship coach—and fantastic record. Again, like with Taylor, you don't expect anything like this this late in the season.
"And then as I said with Taylor, organizations have to do their own business and we aren't privy to any of that, so I have no idea what was happening. I can't really comment on anything other than wishing Mike well because he's done an amazing job. Doesn't seem right, but this is the business we're in. We're all going to suffer a similar fate at some point. That's kind of the way it is."
Watch that below:
"We're all going to suffer a similar fate at some point. That's kind of the way it is."
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 9, 2025
Steve Kerr shares his thoughts on the firing of Nuggets coach Michael Malone earlier today pic.twitter.com/a7udVmKD8S
Kerr then commented again after the game was over, at which point he discussed how money has changed the way the league is run and how coaches, despite choosing this life, are "much more vulnerable" in this day and age.
"I think one thing that's happened is most teams are now owned by billionaires, big corporations. So we're all more expendable," the coach said, when asked about the pitfalls of his position. "There's so much money in the business now. And there are pluses and minuses to that.
"We're all making bigger salaries than we were five years ago, but we're all much more vulnerable because I don't think a lot of the owners are that concerned with firing a guy and paying him off to go away. Again, this is a business we chose and we all love it, but it's not the most stable profession, that's for sure."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Warriors' Steve Kerr Had Dark Comment About Nuggets Firing Michael Malone.
