NBPA President CJ McCollum baffled at Nuggets' head coach firing: "This league out of pocket man"

The Denver Nuggets shocked the NBA world with their sacking of Michael Malone on Tuesday. Malone - who led the franchise to its first NBA championship in 2023 and is the winningest coach (471-327 in 10 seasons) in franchise history - is a well-regarded figure in the league. His sacking even prompted a response from the NBPA President CJ McCollum.

The Nuggets also announced their intentions to part ways with general manager Calvin Booth, which added to the shock value of the team's announcement.

Michael Malone isn't the first Western Conference coach fired before the playoffs this season; the Memphis Grizzlies also let go of Taylor Jenkins, highlighting a troubling trend.

CJ McCollum, a veteran player and NBPA president, criticized the dismissals of experienced coaches before the playoffs as "nasty work."

"This league out of pocket man. WTH going on. Firing good coaches right before the playoffs is nasty work!" McCollum posted, with evident surprise and confusion at the recent sackings of Jenkins and Malone by the Grizzlies and the Nuggets respectively.

Michael Malone and his Denver Nuggets were struggling for form approaching the playoffs. Their 125-120 Indiana Pacers loss on Monday marked the team's fourth consecutive defeat, their longest losing streak this season. However, Denver still finds itself fourth in the West and could hold home-court advantage heading into the Playoffs, making the timing of the sacking even more baffling.

McCollum's response is also relatable to most fans within the NBA community, particularly concerning the Nuggets's decision to sack Michael Malone. How this affects Nikola Jokic and the team heading to the Playoffs will be an intriguing prospect to watch in the 2025 Playoffs.

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Michael Malone is the only coach Nikola Jokic has ever had with the Nuggets in the NBA

Michael Malone - widely regarded for influencing the Nuggets to stick with Nikola Jokic over Jusuf Nurkic when the team had to pick between the two in 2016 - was the only coach three-time MVP Nikola Jokic played under in the NBA at Denver.

Finding a coach who can maximize Jokic's talent and understand him like Malone did will be the Denver Nuggets's toughest challenge. Displeasing their generational talent with a bad coaching hire could significantly change the team's prospects.

Nikola Jokic and Michael Malone. (Credits: Getty)

The franchise has not yet provided detailed reasoning behind Michael Malone's sacking. It will be interesting to see if any rumblings behind the scenes prompted the team to part ways with their coach, who had been with them for a decade.

For now, everyone - from the fans to the NBPA's President - remain in shock at the breaking news that has stunned the NBA on a Tuesday afternoon.