Months have passed since the Denver Nuggets abruptly fired head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth. Since then, Malone has worked with ESPN during their 2025 WCF playoffs coverage, and this season, he'll be a full-time analyst on NBA Countdown on ESPN.
It's not a role he envisions himself staying in — not because he doesn't enjoy it, but because he wants to coach again. Before Thursday's Thunder-Pacers game on ESPN, he said that he "definitely" isn't done coaching.
"I'm definitely not done coaching."
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 23, 2025
Former Nuggets HC Michael Malone sets the record straight on Inside the NBA 😤🔥 pic.twitter.com/2qli9HJyKd
Kenny asked Malone what he misses most about coaching, and he answered that it was the camaraderie. He said that he misses being part of something bigger than himself, being in the locker room with players, and celebrating big wins.
Several teams hired new coaches during the offseason, with a couple of them naming their interim head coach the official head coach, as the Nuggets did. It was surprising that the Knicks didn't pursue Malone after they abruptly fired Tom Thibodeau, especially because they wanted an experienced head coach. The Suns, who fired Frank Vogel, wanted a first-time head coach, so they went with Jordan Ott.
Michael Malone says he 'definitely' isn't done coaching
The 2025-26 season just started, and there is already a head coach controversy, as the Trail Blazers placed Chauncey Billups on leave after he was arrested on Thursday as part of a federal gambling probe. Portland named assistant Tiago Splitter as the interim head coach.
The NBA is a wildly unpredictable league (in case you didn't know that by now). By the time the end of the season rolls around, there will likely be a couple of openings from teams that Malone could fit well with. Or, if he so desires, he could join another coach's staff as an assistant.
Malone spent 10 years in Denver and led the Nuggets to their first-ever title in 2023. He has experience working with star players. His resume speaks for itself. It's hard to see him not getting another opportunity elsewhere.
Wherever he eventually ends up, hopefully, Malone will see eye to eye with the front office, as the tension between him and Booth created a toxic environment and was part of the reason the Nuggets moved on from them both when they did, rather than wait until the end of the season.
Firing Malone at the very end of the regular season was a risky move as there were only three regular-season games left, but hey, it worked out in the end.