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NBA Analyst Says Michael Malone, Calvin Booth 'Never Liked Each Other' Before Nuggets Firing
Move over, Luka Doncic trade. The 2024–25 NBA season just witnessed another contender for the most shocking move of the year.
The Denver Nuggets, three games away from their seventh straight postseason appearance, fired coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth on Tuesday in quite the head-scratching move.
While the timing of the moves don't make much sense, as the Nuggets (47–32) are currently the No. 4 playoff seed in the Western Conference and won an NBA championship just two years ago, tensions between the head coach and general manager apparently were budding for years.
NBA analyst Kevin O'Connor, who previously worked for The Ringer and now writes for Yahoo Sports, posted Tuesday that Booth and Malone "never liked each other, rarely spoke and talked behind each other's backs."
Absolutely nuts. Booth and Malone never liked each other, rarely spoke, and talked behind each other's backs. With the team struggling on the court, Nuggets ownership decided to fire both. Insane. https://t.co/BUVS7grQWq
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) April 8, 2025
Jon Krawczynski, who covers the Minnesota Timberwolves and the NBA for The Athletic, also noted that the issues between Malone and Booth were well known around the league.
It was an open secret in the NBA going back to before the start of the season that the Nuggets front office and coaching staff didn’t see eye to eye. This is still pretty stunning.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) April 8, 2025
Still, the Nuggets giving both the coach and general manager the boot right before the playoffs begin for a championship-hopeful roster is an absolute shock.
Denver hired Malone ahead of the 2015–16 season after he was fired by the Sacramento Kings the year prior. Over 10 years in Denver, Malone compiled a 798–471 record with six playoff appearances and one NBA championship.
Booth was hired as the Nuggets' general manager when Arturas Karnisovas departed for the Chicago Bulls in 2020. Although Karnisovas and former president of basketball operations Tim Connelly built the foundation for Denver's championship team, Booth made plenty of moves to fully shape the roster and bring the Nuggets their first and only title in franchise history.
But now, less than two years since the Nuggets celebrated their championship with a parade down 17th street, both Malone and Booth will hit the open market looking for their next gig.
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Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.