The Denver Nuggets are cleaning house. Mired in a weeks-long rut, their playoff positioning increasingly precarious in the cutthroat Western Conference, the team decided to shake things up in a major way, firing both head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth with just days remaining in the regular season.
That decision sent shockwaves around the NBA, and for good reason; Malone, in particular, had become an institution in Denver, manning the sidelines for a full decade and leading the franchise to its first-ever championship back in 2023. Since then, though, the Nuggets had seen diminishing returns, and it felt more and more like Malone wasn't the voice that was needed to get through to the locker room.
Of course, it's also possible that the coach's voice wasn't the problem. While there's plenty of talent on this roster, and certainly both Booth and Malone have made decisions worth questioning or criticizing over the last 24 months, the reality is that these players simply haven't been good enough to compete at the level Denver expects — and the level at which a star like Nikola Jokic demands. Here are three names in particular who should bear as much blame as Malone or Booth, even if they won't be leaving town.
3. Peyton Watson hasn't taken the next step
From pretty much the moment the Nuggets traded for Watson at the back end of the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft, both the team and its fans have been waiting for the former five-star recruit to take the leap. The physical tools are obvious: 6-foot-7 with a massive wingspan, plenty of lateral quickness and the ability to jump out of the gym. If it could ever click, the sky was seemingly the limit.
Nearly three years later, though, we're still waiting. Watson has more or less lived up to his potential on the defensive end; that defense can't be fully unleashed, though, because his offense is so raw that Malone never felt fully comfortable giving him significant run. He's now knocking down over 35 percent of his 3s, which is encouraging, but he still can't be trusted working off the catch. That's left Denver's perimeter defense exposed, in real need of exactly the sort of wing presence Watson should provide.
2. Michael Porter Jr. hasn't rewarded Denver's faith
Denver bet big on Porter Jr., handing him a five-year, $172 million rookie extension just ahead of the 2021 season. At the time, it wasn't hard to see why: Guys that tall who shoot that well are awfully hard to come by. But Porter Jr. is in year seven now, and he still has many of the same weaknesses as he did when he entered the league.
The shooting remains lethal, over 39 percent from deep on the season and just over 40 percent for his career. But he's still prone to lapses on defense, especially off the ball, and he hasn't made the sorts of strides as an on-ball playmaker that the team was hoping for — he's averaging just 2.2 assists to 1.4 turnovers per game, and both his handle and his decision-making leave something to be desired.
That's left Denver with a dearth of creation around its two tentpole stars, which spells trouble when one of those stars has trouble staying on the court.
1. Jamal Murray just can't seem to stay healthy
Murray had fully shaken off his Olympic funk and was back looking like the lead guard who terrorized the NBA during the 2023 playoffs. And then, as it always seems to, injury struck: this time to Murray's hamstring, an ailment serious enough that his availability for the postseason is now in some question.
This isn't really Murray's fault, per se; obviously he wants to be healthy and on the court more than anyone. But the reality is that he's become increasingly difficult for Jokic and Nuggets brass to rely on, whether he's missing games or trying to battle through at less than 100 percent. Denver's errors of roster construction and player development have put even more on Murray's plate, making it even tougher on everyone else when he's not able to be the offensive engine working alongside Jokic.
None of which is to outright exonerate Malone; as he himself has said in recent weeks, he's tried everything and has seen hardly any change in performance. This Nuggets core felt creaky, and it's hard to blame management for being tempted to blow it up. But Malone was hardly the only problem, and questions still remain.