Thunder might inherit a gold mine thanks to Nuggets’ betrayal of Mike Malone

The Denver Nuggets shocked the basketball world on Tuesday with the announcement that championship-winning head coach Mike Malone had been fired along with general manager Calvin Booth.

While the rest of the NBA is likely still in shock after this news, the Oklahoma City Thunder could reap the benefits of it in the near future. OKC owns two Nuggets first-round picks (top-five protected) over the next few years.

Should the Nuggets train completely go off the tracks in Denver over the next year or two, those picks the Thunder own could suddenly become highly valuable lottery selections.

Malone had been at the helm in Denver since 2015. He helped develop that core and tailored the team’s game plan around Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray.

Now, with 10 games left in the regular season, Malone is out and their Western Conference foes couldn’t be happier. If the standings remain the same, Denver would wind up either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed as they are currently tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for fourth place in the west. If they end up playing in the first round, the winner will probably match up with OKC in the second round.

Once again, the Thunder would likely be amped up to play the Nuggets should they both get out of the first round simply based on all this turmoil leading up to the postseason. Firing a coach on a winning team just days before the playoffs are set to begin is not a good omen of things to come. Although the Grizzlies recently parted ways with now former head coach Taylor Jenkins.

So, if the Nuggets and Grizzlies stay locked into the 4-5 matchup, the Thunder will probably jump for joy because they’ll get the winner if they take care of business in the first round. Projected playoff teams moving on from winning coaches this late in the season isn’t something you often see. Either way, the Thunder are very happy with everything going on with the Nuggets.