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The Denver Nuggets are 1-0 under interim coach David Adelman, beating a struggling Kings team Wednesday. Denver looked like largely the same team, and everything ran through Nikola Jokic, although it's worth noting that Jalen Pickett had a season-high 18 points (but was a target for a while defensively).
That doesn't stop all the drama around the Nuggets in the wake of the stunning firing of coach Michael Malone and removal of Calvin Booth as GM. Here is the latest on all the drama.
• Nicola Jokic knew of firing in advance. Denver's MVP candidate said team President/Governor Josh Kroenke told him about the firing before it was public. The decision had been made, it wasn't a discussion and Kroenke wasn't looking for input, Jokic added.
• Jokic was actively coaching during team huddles against Kings. With Malone out, Jokic was more vocal on the bench and in timeouts than usual in the win over Sacramento.
• Kroenke taking over as interim head of basketball operations. With Booth out, there needs to be a head of basketball operations in Denver as the draft approaches (even though the Nuggets do not have a first-round pick this year), and Kroenke will take over that title in the interim, reports Chris Haynes. The search for a new GM is underway, but despite the team being a contender, the job may not be as attractive to the biggest names as fans would expect.
• Kroenke met with team at shootaround before Kings game. Kroenke met with the team again on Wednesday, saying he felt the team was not playing with enough joy, and "implored them to fight with passion and enthusiasm," Haynes reports. The Nuggets did go out that night and beat the Kings on the road, with Nikola Jokic having a 20-point triple-double and all five starters scoring in double figures.
• Malone's backing of Westbrook cost him support in locker room. One of the points of contention between Malone and Booth was how much Malone leaned on Russell Westbrook over players such as Jalen Pickett. Westbrook is a roller coaster, and it frustrated teammates, Sam Amick and Tony Jones wrote at The Athletic.
"When it came to Malone and his level of support in the locker room, team and league sources say the bottom started to fall out in mid-March...
"All the while, Malone's choice to continue supporting Westbrook — despite the frustration he was causing on and off the floor — ultimately led to a loss of credibility among the team's key players. It was one thing when Malone handled Jokic and [Jamal] Murray with more leniency than the rest of their group, but affording Westbrook that sort of treatment, even with his Hall of Fame resume, wasn't received well by some."
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That doesn't stop all the drama around the Nuggets in the wake of the stunning firing of coach Michael Malone and removal of Calvin Booth as GM. Here is the latest on all the drama.
• Nicola Jokic knew of firing in advance. Denver's MVP candidate said team President/Governor Josh Kroenke told him about the firing before it was public. The decision had been made, it wasn't a discussion and Kroenke wasn't looking for input, Jokic added.
• Jokic was actively coaching during team huddles against Kings. With Malone out, Jokic was more vocal on the bench and in timeouts than usual in the win over Sacramento.
• Kroenke taking over as interim head of basketball operations. With Booth out, there needs to be a head of basketball operations in Denver as the draft approaches (even though the Nuggets do not have a first-round pick this year), and Kroenke will take over that title in the interim, reports Chris Haynes. The search for a new GM is underway, but despite the team being a contender, the job may not be as attractive to the biggest names as fans would expect.
• Kroenke met with team at shootaround before Kings game. Kroenke met with the team again on Wednesday, saying he felt the team was not playing with enough joy, and "implored them to fight with passion and enthusiasm," Haynes reports. The Nuggets did go out that night and beat the Kings on the road, with Nikola Jokic having a 20-point triple-double and all five starters scoring in double figures.
• Malone's backing of Westbrook cost him support in locker room. One of the points of contention between Malone and Booth was how much Malone leaned on Russell Westbrook over players such as Jalen Pickett. Westbrook is a roller coaster, and it frustrated teammates, Sam Amick and Tony Jones wrote at The Athletic.
"When it came to Malone and his level of support in the locker room, team and league sources say the bottom started to fall out in mid-March...
"All the while, Malone's choice to continue supporting Westbrook — despite the frustration he was causing on and off the floor — ultimately led to a loss of credibility among the team's key players. It was one thing when Malone handled Jokic and [Jamal] Murray with more leniency than the rest of their group, but affording Westbrook that sort of treatment, even with his Hall of Fame resume, wasn't received well by some."
Continue reading...
