Michael Malone Out in Denver. Plus, Florida’s National Championship Comeback and a Masters Preview With Scott Van Pelt.
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Why Did the Denver Nuggets Fire Coach Michael Malone?
The Denver Nuggets had fired Mike Malone, their head coach, and also will not be extending the general manager, Calvin Booth, with just a handful of games to go and seeding in the West all over the place. It's a civil war up there in Denver. That was the quote that another team had said about the Nuggets to me before the season even started. Just the way you get on the phone and gossip and what's going on here, what do you think could happen here, and all that kind of stuff. And, you know, that was something that I think a lot of people around the league knew. There's also a conversation because I'm sure some of you would think like, oh, now you tell us the Brian Curtis thing. But there's also like a responsibility that you have with certain things where you wouldn't just like fire up a Sunday pod with Bill and be like, hey, another team told me it's like you just wouldn't necessarily do that. But now it's all out. It's all out on the table.
And so that was the way the description that was the description of the relationship between Mike Malone and Calvin Booth in the front office and head coach. I don't think this was just about this team being 3-7 in their last 10. I don't think it's just about them being an 11-13 record since the All-Star break. The defensive number is sinking again. This felt like an untenable situation that apparently had just reached its breaking point and an unprecedented firing of a coach for a team that's still trying to figure out if they have a chance to pull something off here in the playoffs. But it hasn't felt that way, right? You've been watching them lately. I don't know. The two Minnesota games...
Um, even though, you know, the second Minnesota game was, was a double overtime game. So it's not like they necessarily like got smashed like they did in the first game against Minnesota. Um, so the first one really is more revealing perhaps of how they felt about this team, but there's a lot of stuff that we can go through. Uh, we know that this team has not done enough to build a roster to maximize the best player in the world in Yoke kitchen. He's been the best player in the world for four years. But as much as we can feel that way about not supporting Jokic enough, I'm sure Mike Malone's going, well, you're not doing enough for me either. And I think that's where the disconnect originates from.
What Were the Issues Between Michael Malone and Calvin Booth?
So if we go through all the transactions that Calvin Booth has had, this is probably where Malone's going. You cannot build out the rest or the back end of this rotation with second round picks as we let vets leave for bigger money. Now, look, Contavious Caldwell Pope, the money that Orlando paid him, Denver didn't want to pay him. Orlando wanted shooting and defense. Not sure that they've gotten a full return on their investment. So in a vacuum, not wanting to pay KCP that kind of money, I understand it. But then what are you going to do? And Denver didn't want to do anything. They didn't want to keep the asset, even though it was going to become really expensive with the luxury tax, which I think is a consistent theme here with the way Denver makes its decisions. So it may not even totally all be on Booth. Bruce Brown's deal.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why Did the Denver Nuggets Fire Coach Michael Malone?
1:12–3:03
2
What Were the Issues Between Michael Malone and Calvin Booth?
3:03–15:03
3
Could Nikola Jokic Be Considering Leaving Denver?
15:03–20:51
4
What Made Florida's National Championship Comeback So Remarkable?
20:51–32:39
5
Who Stood Out in the NCAA Tournament and What Are Their NBA Prospects?
32:39–49:10
6
Why Is Scottie Scheffler the Favorite at the Masters?
49:10–52:15
7
What Makes Augusta National Golf Club So Unique?
52:15–54:58
8
What Are Rory McIlroy's Chances at the Masters This Year?
54:58–1:35:53
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from The Ryen Russillo Podcast
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