The Denver Nuggets made sweeping changes on Tuesday, firing head coach Michael Malone and announcing they will not renew the contract of general manager Calvin Booth, whose deal expires at the end of the season.
The shakeup comes with just three games remaining in the regular season, despite the Nuggets’ 47-32 record and fourth-place finish in the Western Conference.
Denver Nuggets Tensions Boiled Over Michael Malone’s Preference to Play Russell Westbrook
According to a report from The Athletic, internal tensions between Malone and Booth had reached a boiling point, including disagreements over roster construction, rotations, and player usage. Per league sources, one notable point of contention was Malone’s decision to lean on veteran Russell Westbrook in crunch time instead of third-year guard Jalen Pickett, a Booth draft pick.
“Malone and Booth had been at odds over everything from roster construction to the way players were used, creating tension that started to bleed into the rest of the organization,” wrote The Athletic’s Tony Jones, Sam Amick, and Zach Powell. “Booth was dismayed that Malone went with Russell Westbrook over Pickett down the stretch of multiple games last week.”
While Pickett vs. Westbrook was one flashpoint, the friction ran deeper. The report detailed broader philosophical divides between Booth’s long-term player development approach and Malone’s preference for trusting veterans with heavy minutes.
The move comes amid the Nuggets’ worst stretch of the season. Denver has lost four straight games and seven of their last 10. Star guard Jamal Murray has missed five straight games with a strained hamstring, contributing to the slide, but the struggles have been mounting longer. The Nuggets are 8-13 in its last 21 games, including a stunning 126-123 home loss to the 17-win Washington Wizards last week.
Less than two years removed from delivering the Nuggets’ first-ever NBA championship, the decision to clean house speaks to how much internal strain had developed within the organization.
Assistant coach David Adelman will take over as interim head coach as Denver looks to stabilize ahead of the postseason. The Nuggets now face a race against time to regroup before the playoffs begin, with uncertainty swirling over the team’s direction beyond this season.
