Skip Bayless gives his two cents on timing of Nuggets' shock Mike Malone firing: "Impossible"

The firing of Mike Malone as Denver Nuggets head coach has taken the NBA world by storm. After news broke of Malone's dismissal on Tuesday, fans and analysts alike have not ceased buzzing about the driving forces behind this move.

One analyst who weighed in on this shock development in Denver is Skip Bayless, who went on X to let the world know what he thought of Malone's firing:

"The firing of Mike Malone just 2 years after a championship AND JUST BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS is just … impossible," Bayless tweeted. "Yes, he got pretty full of himself and maybe became impossible for management to deal with. But he at least deserved the rest of this season."

The Nuggets were three games away from wrapping up their regular season and, from the looks of it, were set to make the play-in as a bare minimum.

But the Nuggets organization nevertheless made the decision to let go of Malone, who now shares the unfortunate distinction of latest head coaching change in NBA history. Back in the 1980-81 season, the Atlanta Hawks fired Hubie Brown 79 games into their season.

The Nuggets are set to finish eight consecutive seasons (including 2024-25) with an above-.500 record. During this span, Denver got to the Western Conference Finals twice and ultimately won the Larry O'Brien trophy in 2023.

Report: Mike Malone "rarely spoke" with ex-Nuggets GM, who was also dismissed

The only other news item that trumped Malone's dismissal on Tuesday was the report that the Nuggets had also let go of their general manager, Calvin Booth.

In the aftermath of this development, NBA insider Kevin O'Connor shed some light on the dynamic between Malone and Booth:

"Absolutely nuts. Booth and Malone never liked each other, rarely spoke, and talked behind each other's backs," O'Connor tweeted. "With the team struggling on the court, Nuggets ownership decided to fire both. Insane."

All eyes will certainly be on the Nuggets as they jockey for playoff position all the way till the end of the regular season — all while managing all the changes happening to their braintrust.