Shocking! Stunning! Confusing! No, I’m not talking about the White Lotus season finale. I’m talking about the Denver Nuggets’ decision to fire coach Michael Malone and part ways with GM Calvin Booth — checks calendar — five days before their last regular season game.
Josh Kroenke, who calls the shots in Denver, explained the decision was done “with the intention of giving our group the best chance at competing for the 2025 NBA Championship.”
Assistant coach David Adelman will step in as Denver's interim head coach for the remainder of the season, but there’s no guarantee he’ll keep the job after this latest spring cleaning.
Whoever takes over needs to help the Nuggets win immediately. Here are six outside candidates who could become the next head coach in Denver.
1. Taylor Jenkins
Jenkins was surprisingly dismissed as the Grizzlies head coach with nine games left in the regular season. The Nuggets said “Hold my Coors” and fired Malone even later in the season. According to reports, Jenkins was fired at least in part due to confusion over the Grizzlies offensive system. That shouldn’t be a problem in Denver, where Nikola Jokic is the system. Meanwhile, Jenkins has proven to be excellent at two things the Nuggets lack: player development and defense. Jenkins helped develop Jaren Jackson Jr. into a Defensive Player of the Year and routinely got his team into the top 10 in defensive efficiency.
2. Micah Nori
Nori doesn’t have NBA head coaching experience outside of a handful of games in place of an injured Chris Finch, but the Timberwolves’ lead assistant, along with Boston’s Sam Cassell, was named the best assistant coach by general managers last summer. Nori is a bright defensive coach who has helped turn the Timberwolves unit into one of the league’s best. He also worked under Malone for in Denver before leaving in 2018, so he has experience with Jokic and the organization.
3. Jeff Van Gundy
After 17 years away from the sidelines, Van Gundy returned to coaching this season and was tasked with improving the Clippers’ defense. The Clippers have gone from 16th in defensive rating to second this season despite losing Paul George and having Kawhi Leonard for less than half the season. Van Gundy hasn’t been a head coach since 2007, but his reputation as a strong defensive coach remains strong in league circles. According to The Athletic, much of the frustration in Denver stems from the team’s defensive decline. The Nuggets rank 20th in defensive rating this season. If anyone can turn that unit around, it might be Van Gundy.
4. Steve Nash
“Mind the Game” is more than LeBron James’ outlet for calling out players who don’t understand Xs and Os. It’s also a coaching pipeline! JJ Redick famously went from co-host to head coach. Could Nash, LeBron’s newest partner, be next? Nash is a Hall of Fame player with head coaching experience and is widely respected around the league. It didn’t work out in Brooklyn, but maybe this generational passer can tap into something in Denver, where he’d have the opportunity to coach one of the greatest passers in league history.
5. Becky Hammon
Hammon’s resume speaks for itself: Hall of Fame WNBA players, back-to-back championships as coach of the Las Vegas Aces, the WNBA’s 2022 coach of the year, and eight years as an NBA assistant under Gregg Popovich. She routinely comes up on lists such as these and was a finalist for the Trail Blazers job in 2021. She might be waiting for the right opportunity to make the jump. A chance to coach Jokic and a championship contender could be compelling enough.
6. Dan Hurley
Hurley reportedly declined the Lakers’ offer last summer to return to UConn and chase a third straight national championship. After that didn’t happen, would he consider making the jump now? Hurley is brash and polarizing, but with a 316-174 record as a college head coach, he’s gotten results everywhere he’s been.
Other names to watch: Frank Vogel, Mike D’Antoni, Sam Cassell, Mike Budenholzer.
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NBA news roundup
- In a scary moment in Charlotte, Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells broke his right wrist on a hard fall on his arm and head from a midair collision at the end of a fast-break dunk during the Grizzlies win over the Hornets on Tuesday. Wells had to be stretchered off of the court and was taken to a hospital, where he had movement in all of his extremities, interim coach Tuomas Iisalo told reporters. But Wells’ season is likely over.
- Midway through the fourth quarter of an entertaining game between the Lakers and Thunder, Luka Dončić was ejected after an official mistakenly thought Dončić’s trash talk with a courtside fan was directed at him. The Lakers were up one at the time of Dončić’s ejection. They lost by 16. LeBron James told reporters, "The game got weird after that.”
- With their win over the Bulls, the Cavaliers (63-16) clinched the No. 1 seed in the East. They are two losses behind the Thunder (65-14) for the league’s best record with three games left to play.
Wolves defanged by the zone
The Timberwolves remain the NBA’s most confusing playoff team.
Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Donte DiVincenzo hit a 3-pointer to put the Timberwolves up 24 and it looked like they were cruising to a sixth-straight win. They were outscored 39-8 in the final 10 minutes of a stunning collapse.
The Timberwolves, who started the game in a four-way tie for fifth place in the West, are now alone in eighth.
Credit to the Bucks, who stormed back Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Porter Jr. combined for 25 points in the final period. Bobby Portis, returning from a 25-game suspension, finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in his 29 minutes.
But there’s no excuse for the Timberwolves. They shot 2 for 15 and committed eight turnovers during that final 10-minute stretch stretch.
So, what happened?
"It was hard for every last one of us to get a look when they were in the zone," Anthony Edwards said. "It messed us up."
That’s it? A zone defense?
It’s true that Minnesota hasn’t fared well against zone defenses this season. Edwards, in particular, struggles to get into the paint. He missed all four of his shots in the fourth quarter, all of which came from beyond the arc. Nobody else could create anything.
Teams facing the Timberwolves in the play-in tournament or playoffs will surely throw zone at them. Julius Randle said as much after the game.
"If teams are smart, probably," Randle said. "I ain't going to give them the blueprint."
Well, the blueprint is out there.