NBA insider hearing ‘rumblings’ of issues with Malone, Nuggets GM
Sep 5, 2024, 2:59 PM
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone is an NBA champion.
So is general manager Calvin Booth.
The two collaborated together in Booth’s first season at the helm to win Denver’s only NBA title. However, many view former boss Tim Connelly as the architect of the Nuggets championship core, drafting Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and trading for Aaron Gordon.
Still, Booth traded Will Barton and Monte Morris for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and also signed Bruce Brown in free agency. No one can deny Booth deserves credit for those two moves, as KCP and Brown were both big parts of the 2022-23 team that won it all.
However, Brown and Caldwell-Pope are now gone, KCP leaving for the Magic this summer after Booth didn’t seem real interested in retaining him.
Booth seems to want to go young while building around Jokic, and Malone loves veteran players. Also looming over the franchise is the max contract that Murray still hasn’t signed, something that’s created a lot of controversy.
Reading between the lines, it appears Malone and Booth might not be on the same page. And on his podcast earlier this week, NBA insider Zach Lowe said that part out loud.
“There are rumblings,” Lowe said. “Rumblings! That the coaching staff and front office, or at least the head coach and the front office, aren’t exactly seeing eye to eye in Denver. To a degree even unusual for the NBA.”
Of course there are always going to be disagreements between the head coach and management around which players to pursue and which to let go. But Malone and Booth seem to have philosophical differences, ones that could be too much to overcome.
We’ll see if owner Josh Kroenke eventually has to pick one or the other, but it could be trending in that direction. For what it’s worth, Malone has more contract security. He’s inked through the 2026-27 season, while Booth’s deal reportedly expires after this year.
If the Nuggets can’t get back to at least the Western Conference Finals, if not the NBA Finals, changes could be coming.
Stay tuned.
