The Denver Nuggets made a seismic organizational change on Tuesday, electing to fire head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with mere days remaining in the 2024-25 NBA regular season. The decision came as a complete surprise to the rest of the sports world, given Malone is less than two years removed from bringing the Nuggets their first-ever championship and has Denver situated firmly in the midst of the Western Conference playoff race.
Shortly after the news broke, the Nuggets released a statement that, in part, explained why the decision was made and why it was made right now. It was light on details, but vice chairman of the ownership group, Josh Kroenke (son of principal owner Stan Kroenke) said they made the change to maximize the team's championship hopes this year.
