Michael Malone’s comment on the league has prompted Richard Jefferson to desire more accountability from coaches. The comments from the Denver Nuggets head coach came after their last pre-game season loss to the Phoenix Suns. Not only did he indicate that his players are out of shape, he tried shifting the blame for it on the league going soft. These comments caused a debate based on a difference of opinion between Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins on a recent episode of NBA on ESPN.

Jefferson started by pointing out the fact that Malone has been the Nuggets coach for nearly a decade now and has seen players like Nikola Jokić put in their best efforts. So he questions what the Nuggets head coach wants. All he got was a message — “You have to come in shape. This is the end of it. You don’t get to be the Denver Nuggets, start the season slow, end the season poorly.”

RJ further pointed out that it’s not just about the conditioning because the Nuggets no longer have the depth they once did. Well, Jamal Murray’s decline from the 2024 postseason to his Olympics run (6 ppg at 29 percent shooting from the field) is no secret. The team also lost their perimeter defensive asset, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, to the Orlando Magic. A concern that Jeff recognized and thus called out Malone for calling the entire league soft. But during the show, Kendrick Perkins seemed to be siding with the Nuggets head coach.

Perk argued that he himself and even Jefferson have played with players who used training camp in preseason games to get in shape. “Mike Malone Michael Malone is right… He (Malone) not saying that they didn’t work out in the regular in the off-season. What he’s saying is the only way to get in game shape is by getting game reps, and he’s right,” he said. The former Celtics star also agreed with Michael Malone’s opinion that the league has gotten soft.

“Guys are not running sprints no more. Guys are not doing conditioning drills no more. Hell, guys are not even playing preseason games no more. So don’t come on here acting like he said something wrong,” Perk added. However, this contradicts the popular opinion that modern-day NBA players are more involved in their physical fitness. And Jefferson didn’t agree with Kendrick Perkins’ take on players using preseason games to get in shape either.

He emphasized that this does not work in the new NBA. “I played with guys that played the 1900. Some people might even say if you went further back, they were plumbers and accountants. My thing is this. This is the new NBA. You come in shape,” Jeff said. And if the players of a team which has 3x MVp and won a championship 2 seasons back are not in shape, RJ believes “there has to be some accountability as a coach.” 

What are the underlying issues with the Denver Nuggets this season?

The Denver Nuggets have entered this season with a few unsettling question marks hanging over them. As mentioned already, Murray’s 3-on-18 shooting in Game 2 and 4-on-18 shooting in Game 6 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in last season’s conference semi-finals became a concern that only increased with his terrible Olympic run. Meanwhile, Christian Braun is stepping into a bigger role, replacing Caldwell-Pope in the starting lineup.

Yes, Braun has got the size, but does he have the speed to keep up with the lightning-quick guards he’ll face night after night? His three-point shooting is another area of concern. And until he proves himself, it feels like the Nuggets’ backcourt has taken a hit.

Then there’s Russell Westbrook, who might be stepping in as a sixth man. With an average of 11.1 points, 5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, that briefly ranked him as the top sixth man of the year, he could prove to be a defensive depth but his lack of shooting that Nuggets already struggle with, is a hurdle for the team to overcome.

And while there’s promise in the young guns like Julian Strawther, Hunter Tyson, and Peyton Watson, they’re all still a work in progress. Throw in the fact that Deandre Jordan is nearing the end of his career, and the Nuggets’ depth suddenly looks like a real problem. Clearly, Michael Malone has a lot on his hands already and fitness concerns should not be another layer of that.