Since the Nuggets’ stunning firings of head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth, reports have been coming out in flurries, detailing the toxic relationship that existed between the two parties behind closed doors for months, if not years.
Most of their differences seem to revolve around the general principle of Malone’s preference to play his trusty veterans versus Booth's insistence upon developing young players and leaning into a youth movement. In the end, it’s hard to say either side “won” as both guys were proven “right” and “wrong” at different times about different things, and both ultimately lost their jobs due to their stubbornness.
In most of the stories we’ve heard about, Booth had drafted young players, wanting Malone to play them, but Malone resisted, favoring veteran players even ones who appeared to be washed up. But in a recent piece from Jake Fischer on Marc Stein’s Substack, he detailed how Malone was also involved in the team’s war room, making personnel decisions and giving input on roster moves.
Malone pushed for Nuggets to trade Christian Braun at 2024 trade deadline
One specific thing mentioned by Fischer was that Malone urged the team to trade Christian Braun ahead of the 2024 trade deadline for a more established player. Braun is one of the few Booth draft picks who had actually managed to crack Malone’s rotation, playing valuable minutes during the Finals run as a rookie.
He took on an even bigger role last season as a solid sixth man for the Nuggets as they attempted to defend their title. But apparently, behind the scenes, Malone wanted Braun gone, to be replaced with a veteran.
Trading Braun would have been a massive mistake
Braun is still on a rookie contract, so trading his salary would not have returned a very promising veteran player with long-term upside. The Nuggets likely would have been renting a player on a cheap deal for a year or two, hoping to make a push. That would have been a huge mistake given how solid Braun has been and how much upside he has shown.
He is the Nuggets’ best and most promising young player by far. He has done a great job stepping into the starting lineup this season, replacing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and putting up nice numbers across the board while playing solid defense.
He is even in the mix for the league’s Most Improved Player Award and figures to be a major part of the Denver rotation for years to come. Hearing that Malone wanted the team to dump Braun last season just backs up all the things that were wrong with his coaching style and why it was time for him to go.
Thankfully, the team did not honor Malone’s wishes and Braun is still on the team. He was one of their brightest sports this season, making a huge leap and he’ll play a big role in their upcoming playoff run.