“Shocking. Very surprising. Especially for me, I didn’t think it would happen”. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was just one voice amongst many who were taken aback by Michael Malone’s firing. After all, he had been described as “the franchise’s all-time winningest coach”, and the only person under whom Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray practiced and played at the NBA level. Having devoted a decade to the Nuggets, and winning a championship, Malone had a good background that safeguarded his position. Even Draymond Green knew this and was willing to back the coach during his dreadful time.
The Golden State Warriors’ power forward recently hosted another episode of his long-running ‘The Draymond Green Show’. As the conversation progressed between him and co-host Baron Davis, Michael Malone’s firing was brought up. Green described Malone as “my guy”, describing him as someone the player holds a deep admiration for. To highlight that, Green went back a few years ago, most likely in 2022. The Denver Nuggets were not having a good season back then. The team had a quick playoff exit and had ironically lost to the Warriors squad themselves in the first round of the postseason. The conversation about whether Malone should be kept on the team ran rampant. Looking to give his two cents on the matter, the Warriors’ power forward went straight to the Nuggets president, and heir to the Walmart fortune, Josh Kroenke.
“Around that time, it was like noise like ‘Do Denver continue forward with Mike Malone?’ And they had a quick playoff exit, I think, and um I text Josh and I said ‘don’t be fooled by the noise, I think Mike Malone is your guy’ like ‘I think y’all got y’all guy,’” Draymond revealed. “And sure enough, they end up winning a championship, uh, with their guy, and so my hunch was right”.
Draymond Green has been Michael Malone’s hype man over the years. After the Denver Nuggets won Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals, he indicated that the coach should be feeling proud of his team, by stating, “If I am Mike Malone, I am walking into the locker room and I’m like, ‘Fellas, we got to do some things better. We can really shore some things up.’ Which is true. You can. I’m walking out the room if I am Mike Malone like, ‘Yes. Yes.’” One yes for the victory, another for the nature of the victory.
In turn, Malone himself has often given his flowers to the player. Back in April 2022, Michael Malone said to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, “He brings a completely different element from what we saw this season, and that’s probably a big part of why we went 3-1 against them. They are a much better team … when Draymond plays”.
Credit: IMAGN IMAGES
The mutual respect and admiration the duo had for each other led to Green defending the coach after the Nuggets’ playoff elimination. It is what led to him defending him recently after his firing. Furthermore, the player was also willing to dismiss the recent report giving a speculated reason behind Malone’s firing, and instead used it to call out Malone’s former players.
Draymond Green criticizes the claim of people being “tired” of Michael Malone’s “voice”
Have you ever had people come up to you and say, “I’m just tired of hearing your voice”? If the answer is ‘No’, then you certainly have had better luck than Michael Malone. After all, according to reports, people got tired of listening to the coach. It was cited as one of the reasons for his firing. Any major media sources have not reported the same claim as of yet. However, it was highlighted by Draymond Green in the recent podcast episode. This leads one to wonder: ‘Is not having an ‘appreciative voice’ enough to give someone the boot?’ Green certainly does not believe so.
“When I look at him being fired, though, you hear the reports of like people tired of his voice. They’re tired of his hard coaching, these types of things. I’m sorry to say, but unfortunately, that’s why people don’t win. Because you get tired of hearing the voice that led you to being a winner,” said Green. The Warriors star highlighted himself as also being someone “who could be the voice that people get tired of at times that’s helping lead you to winning.” While he stated that he understands why people get tired of it, he also “don’t give a s—”. After all, one sometimes needs to be guided through harshness in order to win.
“And so, to hear people say it coming out like ‘Oh yeah, they were getting tired of Mike Malone’s hard style.’ Like, it makes complete sense to me. It makes complete sense to me like people but even aside from being a player, BD, people get tired of being pushed,” Green added. “And that’s what it is. People get tired of being pushed. Which is why people don’t win, over and over and over again. Which is why only a select few of people win, because people get tired of being pushed. And so I heard that, and it made complete sense to me”.
Mar 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) argues a call against the Atlanta Hawks in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
According to new reports, the Nuggets were set to fire Malone even before the All-Star break. However, a winning streak delayed their plans. Finally, the coach was let go after the Nuggets lost four straight. Therefore, no one can blame Malone when Brian Windhorst reported that the coach was “not calm” after being fired. If the ‘voice’ thing is to be believed, then that will give just more excuse for Malone to get upset.
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