The NBA world was rocked on Tuesday when it was announced that the Denver Nuggets had fired head coach Mike Malone just days before the playoffs. There have been complaints about the Nuggets all season, but this was still shocking, especially since the team is fourth in the West and seemingly has a chance at some postseason success.
Kings fans may not have been as surprised because they know Malone well, and they understand that he can be a prickly person to work with. Over the years, he has earned a reputation that isn't doing him any favors.
Malone's firing by the Kings set the stage for Tuesday's news
Back in December of 2014, Malone was also relieved of his duties leading the Kings. This came after Sacramento started the season with a 5-1 record but then lost eight of ten games and saw their lead star, DeMarcus Cousins, contract viral meningitis.
At the time, reports said there was no specific incident that led to Malone's firing, but leaks from inside the team eventually revealed that Malone and Sacramento's front office didn't see eye-to-eye. There was apparently very little common ground between Malone and owner Vivek Ranadive.
While working for the Kings, Malone never felt completely safe in his job and was paranoid of being fired. He surrounded himself with supportive staff members as a way to keep his vision and his job safe, but ultimately he didn't have enough protection and was let go.
Malone has always been known as a hot-headed coach, and it soon became clear that this was one of the reasons why he left the Kings. He believes in his plans and sticks to them, even when he receives pushback from his superiors. That's an admirable trait in some ways, but it can also lead to contentious situations.
In Denver, Malone's strong will and rough-around-the-edges personality worked well...until it didn't. The situation he finds himself in now is similar to the one he experienced with the Kings. The team is going through a rough patch, but the firing feels a little drastic to many people.
Why not wait until the summer? Why pull the trigger so close to the playoffs? There are many questions about Malone's departure, just like there were when he was let go from the Kings. Eventually, we learned that the Kings' management had grown tired of Malone, his choices, and his personality. Will we learn the same thing this time?
Malone is a smart and driven coach, but he can sometimes upset and alienate the front office, who are notoriously tricky and tough to deal with. It'll be interesting to see if news soon drips out from inside the Nuggets organization and we find out that things weren't so great behind the scenes in Denver.