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Nuggets rumors: Michael Malone-Calvin Booth feud led to housecleaning

Originally posted on NBA on ClutchPoints
By Jackson Stone | Last updated Apr 8, 2025 5:58 PM ET

On Tuesday, the Denver Nuggets shocked the NBA world by firing both head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with less than two weeks until the playoffs again. The Nuggets have hit a rough patch of late, losers of four straight games, but that still didn’t signal that a change of this magnitude was coming.

Immediately, fans began speculating that something was awry behind the scenes in Denver that could have led to such a shocking move, and now, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo! Sports is shedding more light on the supposedly volatile relationship between head coach and general manager.

“Booth and Malone never saw eye to eye. They never liked each other, they went through stretches where they didn’t speak to each other this season. So I think the Nuggets Ownership (Stan) Kroenke’s decision is rooted in, hey we’ve got to get rid of this drama from these positions of GM and Coach where these guys aren’t talking at times and when they do it’s always argumentative,” said O’Connor, per Yahoo! Sports on YouTube.

A shocking decision

It was less than two years ago that the Denver Nuggets were on top of the NBA world, winners of the 2023 NBA championship and employing the league’s clear best player in Nikola Jokic.

While Jokic is still on the roster and playing some of the best basketball in NBA history, the Nuggets have lost multiple key pieces in the last two offseasons, including both Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

The lack of shooting around Jokic has become a glaring issue throughout this season, which could be the team’s rationale for relieving Booth of his duties.

Nuggets fans have also at times taken issue with Malone’s rotations both during the regular season and playoffs, and it’s also worth considering whether the team is hoping for a traditional post-coach firing jolt to kick in as the playoffs approach.

In any case, the Nuggets will next take the floor on Wednesday evening on the road vs the Sacramento Kings.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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