Despite attempts to explain away ownership decisions, the firing of Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone and GM Calvin Booth are not adding up. With three games left in the regular season and a playoff berth, the Denver Nuggets announced the firing of Head Coach Mike Malone on Tuesday.

In the statement, to suggest that the decision gives the Nuggets the best chance to win moving forward appears disingenuous, given that the replacement has no head coaching experience either at the NBA or college level. Malone leaves as the winningest coach in Nuggets franchise history (471 wins) and delivered the only championship in the team’s history less than two years ago.

The press release issued on Tuesday states: “It is with no pleasure that we announce that we have relieved Michael Malone of his head coaching duties, effective immediately. David Adelman will assume our head coaching role for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.

This decision was not made lightly and was evaluated very carefully. 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.

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.”

As of Wednesday, the Nuggets were in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Western Conference playoff standings with a 47-32 record. At the time of Malone’s firing, the Nuggets had four consecutive losses, including a double-overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The four losses occurred when star guard Jamal Murray was out with an injury. Malone had led the team to eight consecutive winning seasons.  

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