Michael Malone says coaching 4th graders most fun he's had as coach
Michael Malone had a lot of free time after he was fired by the Sacramento Kings just 24 games into his second season, but he made good use of it.
The newly hired Denver Nuggets coach told SI.com's Chris Mannix that he used the opportunity to coach his daughter's fourth grade team, and he apparently had a great time doing it. So much so, that he called it “probably the most fun I've ever had coaching” and had some not so subtle words referencing his time in Sacramento.
From Mannix's interview with Malone:
Chris Mannix: What was your daughter's team's record?
Mike Malone: I'll tell you what, we led the fourth grade league in points per game allowed. So we were a full-string team. The only rule we had on defense was that if your girl didn't have the ball, you had to be in the paint. So our paint was tight, and we shrunk the floor, and we had a very good season. But, I kid you not, that was probably the most fun I've ever had coaching. And maybe it's because I knew I wasn't going to have an owner coming down, firing me because we weren't playing a certain style of play that he wanted. I was able to coach that team and have fun and teach, and I think the girls had fun as they learned. But it was a great experience and something that will definitely help me as a coach, because now I've learned to maybe relax a little bit and have fun with it.
• GOLLIVER: Top 25 NBA free agent rankings
Malone now heads back to the NBA after being hired by the Nuggets earlier this month. For more on him, check out his interview with Mannix here.
