coolhandluke
Starter
All the hit pieces coming out of the woodwork now. Time to peddle the unfounded rumours while the clicks are coming.
Jordi is the one that got away.Jordi Fernandez reacts to the Nuggets firing Michael Malone:
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) April 8, 2025
“The timing, it’s tough with three games to go and the position they are [in] to play for everything. [He’s] a super accomplished coach, a person that means a lot to me and my career. I would not be here without him.… pic.twitter.com/piNaX9rYfC
I think he's a good coach for sure. I don't consider him even close to the Spo/Pop tier of elite coaches though. He's a good coach that was gifted one of the best offensive players we've ever seen.
Well, that's the rub, isn't it? There's no counterfactual for whether Jokić would have succeeded in the NBA, no matter what. People like to assume that talent will always win out, but we've also seen many examples where it didn't. It's just that, we canonize the times when it happens, like when Petrović got traded to New Jersey and everybody realized, "Oh yeah, they really were holding him back in Portland, that whole time!" Or when Sheed shines after getting out of Webber's shadow, or when Jermaine O'Neal shines after getting out of Sheed's shadow. And, when it doesn't work, we play the results and act like it was always the player that failed, rather than the player being failed. Nerlens Noel wasn't failed by multiple organizations, he just was never that good. Otto Porter, Jr.? He wasn't ruined by the Wizards! No! He just wasn't that good. Philly didn't ruin Jahlil Okafor, he just wasn't that good... that's how we rationalize it, anyway.I certainly wouldn't credit Malone with Jokic's success. Talent is talent, after all. And Malone is not the only coach who could have conceivably broken through with the selfless and mercurial big man. But he was Jokic's only NBA head coach up until his firing, and they did manage to win a title together despite a surrounding roster that was never quite good enough or healthy enough.
Sources: Denver Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke will serve as interim president of basketball operations with assistance from front office personnel in Ben Tenzer and Tommy Balcetis. A thorough GM search is expected in the offseason. https://t.co/mqO3NTdroq
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) April 10, 2025
This deserves about 10000x the scrutiny that Anjali gets for a stint in Stockton but won't and I can't imagine why.Sources: Denver Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke will serve as interim president of basketball operations with assistance from front office personnel in Ben Tenzer and Tommy Balcetis. A thorough GM search is expected in the offseason. https://t.co/mqO3NTdroq
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) April 10, 2025
What are the dude’s qualifications aside from being a Kroenke?
Rival teams began to hear that Nikola Jokić’s patience was wearing thin in Denver due to the team’s struggles, per @TheAthletic, @sam_amick and @tjonesonthenba
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 10, 2025
“The Nuggets’ locker room was a mess, with team and league sources indicating that the franchise’s most important… pic.twitter.com/f55vGkoH6s
Oh, I get it now. Jokic and Domas are bad defensively so they blame their head coaches and of course, the HC is always the one to go. NBA is lameRival teams began to hear that Nikola Jokić’s patience was wearing thin in Denver due to the team’s struggles, per @TheAthletic, @sam_amick and @tjonesonthenba
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 10, 2025
“The Nuggets’ locker room was a mess, with team and league sources indicating that the franchise’s most important… pic.twitter.com/f55vGkoH6s
in other words, Joker got Malone fired.
Rival teams began to hear that Nikola Jokić’s patience was wearing thin in Denver due to the team’s struggles, per @TheAthletic, @sam_amick and @tjonesonthenba
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 10, 2025
“The Nuggets’ locker room was a mess, with team and league sources indicating that the franchise’s most important… pic.twitter.com/f55vGkoH6s
in other words, Joker got Malone fired.
Crazy if he did since Malone was the one who allowed his free reign and helped him get where he is, the problem was Calvin Booth the off season signing plus then Holmes injury ended there run barring a miracle before then season started.Rival teams began to hear that Nikola Jokić’s patience was wearing thin in Denver due to the team’s struggles, per @TheAthletic, @sam_amick and @tjonesonthenba
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 10, 2025
“The Nuggets’ locker room was a mess, with team and league sources indicating that the franchise’s most important… pic.twitter.com/f55vGkoH6s
in other words, Joker got Malone fired.
It took a few years after the Kings fired him but it eventually came out that Malone wears on people. The days of coaching influence and power with the likes of a Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley, Pop, etc. are waning. The game being so uniform stylistically has all but made it solely a position of chemistry management. Coaching always tilted towards that but having particular systems on either end is over. You shoot on one end, you switch on the other, done.
I propose we trade them for each other. Serves them right.Oh, I get it now. Jokic and Domas are bad defensively so they blame their head coaches and of course, the HC is always the one to go. NBA is lame
It took a few years after the Kings fired him but it eventually came out that Malone wears on people. The days of coaching influence and power with the likes of a Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley, Pop, etc. are waning. The game being so uniform stylistically has all but made it solely a position of chemistry management. Coaching always tilted towards that but having particular systems on either end is over. You shoot on one end, you switch on the other, done.
Is it "over"? I mean, yes, at this specific moment in time, the game has been utterly flattened by the ascendance of the three point shot. But as I noted in a separate thread, it's unlikely to remain this way. The NBA is very sensitive about how their brand is viewed and understood. And though they sometimes react slowly, the league office is generally unafraid to shake things up. Just consider the play-in format and the in-season tournament.
As greater numbers of fans, pundits, players, coaches, and front office personnel continue to express displeasure with the "state of the game" in this era of three pointer excess, the league will alter its course and make changes to the rules. It's not like this is an unsolvable problem. Will the NBA outright remove the three point line? No, I would expect not. But there are plenty of innovative adjustments that could rebalance the court and tilt the math away from the three point shot, and the league office is no doubt discussing some of those innovations. I imagine we'll see at least a couple of them implemented within the next five years or so.
And while that obviously affects nobody's coaching search today, it is hardly a given that having influential coaches with stylistic variance and particular systems on either end of the court is "over".
It would be my ultimate dream to see the late 80s/early 90s style of basketball come back to the NBA. Give me more Steph Curry drives into the paint, meeting the likes of Wemby, Jokic, or any other big man close to the hoop. Allow the guy to take some bumps throughout a game.Amen to that, and hopefully that is the case moving forward. That will likely depend on what star the league builds itself around and if it's Wemby it can go either way. With these current rules he could literally break the game if it goes unchecked. My personal hope? The rebalancing potentially coincides with the NBA's return to NBC. The rebalancing would be easy, simply allow for more physicality on the perimeter and stop propping up players with these "freedom of movement" rules. So far there has been a bit more of a balancing recently but it needs more. "Fights", lol, seem to be more of a thing now. Gee, sure does remind one of the good 'ol days of the 90's and NBA on NBC eh? Now, that said, hopefully the game doesn't tilt back all the way where they were because that era became a bit stale as well getting way too grindy and physical. The era of Euro style ball has had it's run and it's time to shift back to the days where defenders and athletes mattered. Once the Euroleague started to become more physical than the NBA game the clock started ticking. Then once that happens yeah, coaching and system should matter more.
Unless they bring back the late 80s/early 90s referees, that scenario wouldn't play out the way you think it would.It would be my ultimate dream to see the late 80s/early 90s style of basketball come back to the NBA. Give me more Steph Curry drives into the paint, meeting the likes of Wemby, Jokic, or any other big man close to the hoop. Allow the guy to take some bumps throughout a game.
Could you imagine the bumps and bruises sustained if someone like Curry constantly drove into the paint against the likes of Shaq, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem, David Robinson, and Alonzo (just to name a few)???
I see your point.Unless they bring back the late 80s/early 90s referees, that scenario wouldn't play out the way you think it would.
Nuggets ownership is unlikely to ever approve a Michael Porter Jr. trade due to his ties to Missouri, per @TheSteinLine
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 12, 2025
“The Kroenkes have a fondness for Porter that stems from deep ties to their shared alma mater: Missouri. Sources with knowledge of Denver's thinking have… pic.twitter.com/QNhGCMj8jd
Nuggets ownership is unlikely to ever approve a Michael Porter Jr. trade due to his ties to Missouri, per @TheSteinLine
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 12, 2025
“The Kroenkes have a fondness for Porter that stems from deep ties to their shared alma mater: Missouri. Sources with knowledge of Denver's thinking have… pic.twitter.com/QNhGCMj8jd
#NUGGZ
Josh Kroenke on firing Michael Malone and Calvin Booth: "To be frank, neither of them deserved it. And I apologize for that"
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) April 14, 2025
"I needed to be better at different points in time." pic.twitter.com/KnP1LWE5VR
In other words...Josh Kroenke on firing Michael Malone and Calvin Booth: "To be frank, neither of them deserved it. And I apologize for that"
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) April 14, 2025
"I needed to be better at different points in time." pic.twitter.com/KnP1LWE5VR
LOLWUT
if neither of them deserved to be fired, why the hell did you fire them?