Real loser in Nuggets’ front office and coach “cold war” is sad but obvious

After a couple of nights to sleep on — and consume content about — the Denver Nuggets’ jaw-dropping decision to part ways with both head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with just three games remaining in the regular season, I believe it’s Nuggets fans who truly lost this cold war. 

Seeing the tension between Malone and Booth had finally hit irreconcilable levels, Josh and Stan Kroenke seemingly thought, “This team’s gonna flame out in round one, might as well get a head start on reshaping it around the best basketball player on the planet, Nikola Jokic.” 

While the headlines have focused on Malone’s slipping locker room grip or Booth’s failure to bolster the bench, waving the white flag now feels like a gut punch — especially for fans of a franchise just two years removed from hoisting the Larry O’Brien. 

Bewildering Timing

I still cannot believe the Kroenkes saw the reaction to Memphis canning its coach earlier this month and said, “Hold our beer,” detonating the leadership structure that delivered the franchise its first-ever championship less than two years ago. 

Let’s be clear: The decision to drop Malone and Booth earlier this week — the week before the NBA’s postseason tips — is nothing short of bonkers. It’s not just a shake-up but feels somewhat like a surrender. With Jamal Murray’s health in question again and Jokic visibly worn down, the vibes are far from immaculate. And instead of rallying, ownership apparently hit the eject button. 

It’s hard to believe the Kroenkes looked at the current state of the franchise and thought now was the perfect moment to create organizational chaos. Maybe they’re hoping that blowing up the org chart this late in the season lights a fire under the players. But the moves don’t scream “motivational masterstroke” as much as they feel like a soft launch into the beginning of the end of a golden era. 

I might be wrong, but this feels like Denver’s front office isn’t just punting on the 2024-25 season — they’re doing it on third-and-long. 

Did Michael Malone Lose the Locker Room? 

If you’ve been paying attention to Malone’s recent postgame comments, the writing about why he was let go has been on the wall. The man sounded exasperated trying to convince his players to play defense through increasingly desperate press conferences. 

Then there’s the jab about guys only watching film when coaches spoon-feed it to them. When your head coach is publicly airing dirty laundry about professional athletes refusing to do the bare minimum of preparation, something is fundamentally broken. 

Unfortunately, the relationship between coach and players had clearly deteriorated beyond repair. Once that happens in the NBA, there’s usually no turning back. Malone, known for his demanding style and defensive focus, seemed to have lost his team’s ear.

But for all his flaws, Moach helped usher in the most successful era in franchise history. Does some blame for this season’s spiral land at his feet? Sure. But he doesn’t deserve to be the scapegoat for an organizational faceplant. 

Calvin Booth’s Big Role in the Nuggets’ Mess

The fascinating subplot in this organizational struggle is that GM Calvin Booth got the axe alongside Malone. Neither side won the cold war. 

After putting the finishing touches on a championship roster, Calvin Booth let Bruce Brown and KCP walk, dealt three second-round picks to get off the Reggie Jackson contract that he agreed to and then doubled down on an inexperienced and concerningly young bench. Check out this Reddit post or Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey’s X update below for the complete list. 

Worse yet, he got more passive at the trade deadline. The Nuggets sorely needed help — be it another offensive creator or point-of-attack defender — yet Booth decided to stay the course with a bench that was statistically one of the worst among playoff contenders. 

The front office’s failure to address glaring roster needs despite having the league’s MVP and a championship core borders on negligence. After losing key defensive pieces from the championship run, Booth responded with the mercurial Russell Westbrook as the significant offseason acquisition and no meaningful deadline moves. No coherent plan, just a strange belief that the championship magic would somehow sustain itself despite a noticeably weaker supporting cast.

Let’s ignore all that and pretend firing the GM doesn’t potentially carry more weight than firing the coach. Jokic is the best player on the planet, but the team remains locked into a few long-term contracts (Murray, MPJ and Aaron Gordon) that will be very hard to move under the new CBA. Given the contract mess the new CBA created and the pressure to steward the rest of Jok’s prime, the Nuggets’ GM job might be significantly less attractive than that of the head coach. 

Ultimately, Malone and Booth will be fine. They’ll land elsewhere. But the firings sucked for us fans. 

The Beginning of the End for Denver’s Golden Era? 

Reading between the lines, the Kroenkes seemingly decided that this team, as currently constructed, has no realistic path to contention.

This is the fourth out of five years the Nuggets have gone into the playoffs shorthanded in one way or another. The one year they weren’t? You know the answer: NBA Champions. But that championship run increasingly looks like it might have been the peak rather than the beginning of a dynasty. 

The golden era was supposed to bring multiple championships to the Mile High City, not explode in a power struggle three games before the playoffs. There are no winners in the cold war between Booth and Malone — just casualties. And chief among them is Nuggets Nation, those of us who stuck with the team through the late 1990s, myriad first-round exits under George Karl, the “1, 2, 3 … Cancun” Brian Shaw era, last year’s Game 7 loss to Minnesota and every other franchise heartbreak. 

Even if these moves ultimately prove necessary for the franchise’s long-term health, the timing leaves a bitter taste. Fans who dared to believe this season might still have some magic left in it are now staring down a postseason that suddenly feels less like a battle and more like a funeral.