The Denver Nuggets have been eliminated from the playoffs after losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the second round. There were some major changes that the Nuggets made before the playoffs started, and one of them was surprisingly firing Michael Malone.
Malone had been the head coach for the Nuggets for some time, and he even helped them win their recent championship two seasons ago. Apparently, there had been some friction between Malone and general manager Calvin Booth for some time when it came to the roster construction, and the Nuggets ended up firing both of them.
With the Western Conference Finals in place between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Thunder, Malone has a new job, as he’ll work on the NBA Countdown pregame and halftime studio show, joining Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Bob Myers, Kendrick Perkins and Shams Charania.
It’s obvious that Malone knows the game at a high level, and it would be nice to know what he sees from the lens of a coach, while also delivering analysis that many basketball fans would appreciate.
After the Nuggets fired Malone, he wrote a heartfelt message to the team and fans that he’s been a part of over the years that he was a head coach.
“To Nuggets Nation, it has been my absolute pleasure to lead and fight for our team every night,” Malone wrote on the Denver Post, via Bennett Durando.. To help bring Denver its first NBA Championship is an accomplishment that I will always cherish. I will be forever grateful for the unwavering love and support you showed me and my family. Denver is home, and being your coach has been my privilege. Thank you, all!”
Malone has helped lead the Nuggets to be one of the top teams in the league over the past few years, and there’s no doubt that he could get another coaching job soon. It’ll be interesting to see if any coaching jobs open during the offseason, but if not, he’ll probably just be doing things such as making appearances on shows such as ESPN.
As for the Nuggets, they will most likely be looking for a coach during the offseason, or they may make the decision to promote David Adelman as the head coach, as he took over when Malone was fired.
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