Were you expecting the Denver Nuggets to fire coach Michael Malone this deep into the season? We certainly weren’t, and we’re willing to bet that neither were a lot of NBA fans. However, as new details emerge, the story becomes clearer. And it appears one of the reasons was Malone and the ex-GM for the Denver Nuggets, Calvin Booth, constantly butting heads on several issues. One of them being the issue of Russell Westbrook.

This season, under coach Malone, Brodie had seen a career resurgence of sorts. He became a starter while the Nuggets were short-handed, and soon Malone began relying on Russell frequently whenever stars like Nikola Jokic or Jamal Murray were absent. And sometimes, even if they were available. It seems this is something Booth did not agree with in the slightest.

Per The Athletic, Booth wished for Jalen Pickett or the younger players to be selected in Brodie’s stead.

“Booth wanted Malone to use younger players that he drafted and wanted Malone to stray away from using veterans for so many minutes. Jalen Pickett is a good example of this, according to league sources. Booth was dismayed that Malone went with Russell Westbrook over Pickett down the stretch of multiple games last week.”  

It was a fact that Brian Windhorst also corroborated on NBA Today. In fact, the ESPN veteran went back to the very roots when Malone chose to play Jameer Nelson over then-lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay, clearly pointing out it was a pattern.

Now, Booth wanting Malone to use younger players is wholly understandable. After all, would you rather invest minutes in a 36-year-old at the tail-end of his career? Or would you give those minutes to a hungry 25-year-old looking to make a name for themselves? Albeit, the 36-year-old in this case is a former 2x MVP. Even so, this isn’t the best look for Russell Westbrook, even if he can’t really help it.

Once again, he finds himself at the heart of the issues with yet another franchise. Remember his stint with the Houston Rockets? Regardless, disagreements like this one are common in the NBA. It usually doesn’t lead to the owners deciding to fire two key figures within a franchise, right?

But, of course, Malone and Booth’s disagreement over Brodie alone isn’t why the Nuggets decided to part ways with them. No, the real reason runs much deeper.

League insiders reveal long-standing dysfunction behind Booth and Malone’s firing

Now, like we said, don’t think Westbrook getting more time on the court is what led to Calvin Booth and Michael Malone’s relationship falling apart. Granted, that didn’t help things. But no, it seems their relationship had been in tatters for a very long time, according to longtime NBA reporter Kevin O’Connor.

On X, O’Connor revealed that the real reason the Nuggets owners fired the duo of Booth and Malone was this fractured relationship between the two. Specifically, the fact that it had started to hurt the Nuggets on the court. “Booth and Malone never liked each other, rarely spoke, and talked behind each other’s backs. With the team struggling on the court, Nuggets ownership decided to fire both. Insane,” wrote Kevin.

But that’s not all. Shams Charania’s revelations on NBA Today corroborated Kevin’s claims.

“Just what has gone on in the last couple of years with what’s been described to me as a cold war between Michael Malone and Calvin Booth. The Nuggets believed something needed to change now. They were likely going to dismiss one or the other come the offseason. So Josh Kroenke and the Nuggets decided to get it over with now seeing how the team’s performing. … He[Kroenke] decided to flip the culture. He wanted to inject some life going into the playoffs,” Charania explained.

Windhorst followed that up by diving deeper into the strain. He pointed to the pressure Michael Malone faced after the team lost key veterans like Bruce Brown, KCP, and Jeff Green, and the growing expectation to develop the younger wings Booth had drafted—Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, and Christian Braun. But Brian also clarified that it “has been an issue between executives and coaches for decades and will be decades more.”

However, he also highlighted how Malone’s fiery style—“rage timeouts,” “yell at them in film sessions,” “yell at them in locker rooms,” “yell at them in huddles”—had worn thin with players over time. And on Booth’s side?

Reportedly, contract negotiations “throughout the year, before the year, going into the year,” had fallen apart, adding to the instability behind the scenes.

These insider details give more perspective to the Nuggets’ decision. After all, it’s hard to build a championship-winning franchise when the head coach and GM are barely on speaking terms. So it seems, despite being in a bad position from the looks of it, Brodie had very little to do with Malone’s departure. But who knows? Perhaps not playing him could have salvaged Michael and Calvin’s professional relationship.

Regardless, what’s done is done. And now, we look forward to the Nuggets under the leadership of interim coach David Adelman.