Michael Malone is still upset over how the Nuggets cast him off. Everything that's happened since only validates his feelings.
If there's one thing I've learned about professional sports, it's that you rarely get to go out on your terms. No matter who you are, no matter what you've accomplished, no matter your legacy, you are never untouchable. A Cinderella ending where you go out on top, or the option to enjoy an extended retirement tour, is almost always a fantasy, not reality. Most of the time, things end with a thud. Everyone can wear out their welcome.
Michael Malone learned this the hard way when the Denver Nuggets unceremoniously fired him just three games before the 2025 playoffs.
Malone is the winningest coach in team history. He brought the Nuggets their first-ever championship. He, in large part, unearthed the unconventional Nikola Jokić and helped him become one of the finest basketball players of all time. When push came to shove, none of that mattered. The moment Malone's passive-aggressive feud with ex-general manager Calvin Booth started to bleed into Denver's locker room, his fate was sealed. His status as a team legend was irrelevant.
Less than two years after delivering the Nuggets' first Larry O'Brien Trophy, he was a liability.
Even still, it's so unsurprising to learn the now-ESPN analyst is still bitter about how the Nuggets didn't, at the very least, give him more one more playoff run. Malone had to have earned a little more respect than that ... right?
"I still have a bad taste in my mouth with how things ended in Denver [with the Nuggets], and I’d love to go out on my own terms. With that being said, what I’ve learned over my many years in this league is how important it is to go to work every day with people you care about, trust, respect, and who are all pulling in the same direction. So, when I have a chance to go back into the NBA, I just want to make sure I’m working with a group of people who are like-minded, share a common vision, and are willing to do whatever it takes to make that vision a reality.”
It's that last part of Malone's message that sticks with me. Malone is not going to be a talking head forever. He's too good a coach for that to happen. Someone will eventually accept his flaws and have him try to build them up into a contender again. They would be silly not to.
At the same time, it sounds like Malone has learned his lesson. A basketball Cold War between him and someone like Booth, who was supposed to be his respected and valued colleague, was always going to end in disaster. It would've never made sense for Nuggets ownership to pull its punch and eliminate just one toxic element in its basketball leadership structure. The disconnect between Malone, who understandably wanted more dependable veterans around Jokić in his prime, and Booth, who knew the NBA's second apron would come down like a merciless hammer on Denver's roster and wanted to develop young (cheap) talent in earnest, was too far gone.
Both had to pay the price with their jobs.
As he spends a season working on national television, there's unfortunately one more thing Malone has to stomach about his Nuggets exit.
After trading Michael Porter Jr.'s albatross contract for Cam Johnson, and acquiring veterans like 2023 championship sixth man Bruce Brown, sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr., and Jonas Valančiūnas, perhaps the best backup Jokić has ever had, the Nuggets finally have the deep, talented roster Malone spent the better part of two years clamoring for behind the scenes.
So, not only did the Nuggets take away a chance to go out on his terms, they wasted almost no time building the team he desperately wanted after he was gone. Think about it. Wouldn't you still be upset, too?
Aliyah Boston has the right mindset for A'ja Wilson
A'ja Wilson is the first WNBA player ever to win four MVP awards. The power forward isn't even 30, and she is on an obvious GOAT-type trajectory. But Wilson didn't look like an MVP in the Las Vegas Aces' Game 1 semifinals loss to the Indiana Fever on Sunday. Far from it, in fact. Wilson shot just 6-of-22 from the field in a disappointing 16-point performance. She was never really into the game, and that essentially sunk the Aces.
Beyond Wilson missing some looks she makes in her sleep, the Fever deserve credit for flummoxing the Aces superstar. And when I say the Fever deserve credit, I mean Aliyah Boston. After the shorthanded but plucky Fever pulled off the stunning upset, Boston summed up her strategy to defend Wilson perfectly in an ESPN interview.
"Honestly, [I was] just trying to be kind of annoying a little bit," Boston said.
Man, hearing quotes like that makes me think the Fever could really do this. It's not about squaring up with Wilson and matching her shot for shot. She's too great to play straight up. You will pay the price every time. When in doubt, you have to get into Wilson's head, you have to throw her off rhythm, and just a tad off her game.
In essence, you have to be a pest.
If Boston understands this crucial distinction, Wilson and the heavily-favored Aces might get pushed to their limit.
Shootaround
- With training camp around the corner, the Rockets lost Fred VanVleet for the season to an ACL tear. Woof. He won't be easy to replace
- The 5 biggest NBA training camp storylines, including the Thunder's quest to repeat
- James Worthy thinks the Lakers' Marcus Smart signing is like their 1999 Ron Harper signing.
- The 38 best NBA free agents remaining, with one more wave to go
This was Layup Lines, For the Win's basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Michael Malone is upset about Nuggets breakout, he still wasn't blameless
Category: Basketball
