Sixers Coach Makes Honest Statement on ‘Disturbing’ Moves Around NBA

Nick Nurse reacted to the firing of Michael Malone on Wednesday.

Jan 27, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

As the Denver Nuggets and the Memphis Grizzlies will soon prepare for a postseason run, both organizations made shocking changes in the final weeks of the 2024-2025 NBA season.

The Grizzlies moved on from the head coach, Taylor Jenkins. The Denver Nuggets parted ways with Michael Malone. The latter coach just coached the Nuggets to an NBA Championship victory a couple of seasons ago. He won’t have the opportunity to see the team’s 2025 playoff run through.

With Malone’s departure in Denver, he became the fourth coach from the last six NBA Finals winners to be fired. The now-former Nuggets head coach joins Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse in that group.

Ahead of Wednesday’s matchup between the Sixers and the Washington Wizards, Nurse reacted to the pattern, calling it a “disturbing trend.”

With Michael Malone being fired from Denver, FOUR of the last six NBA coaches to win the Finals are no longer with the team they won with 😲 pic.twitter.com/fp4f7V47gp

— ESPN (@espn) April 8, 2025

“I don’t think leeway is what we are looking for,” Nurse told reporters on Wednesday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I think anybody is looking for that you’ve proven you can get to the ultimate goal for a team with your own team, right? The role changes sometimes, right? But as we know, it’s an emotional game. It’s a pressurized, day-in and day-out, winning-and-losing game, right? That’s for real. You know, everybody feels it day in and day out. It’s tough.”

Nurse, Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer had short leashes with their former organizations. The Sixers head coach won the NBA Championship in 2019 and was let go by the Raptors four seasons later.

Frank Vogel’s Lakers won the title after Nurse’s Raptors, and he was shown the door in LA after two more seasons. Mike Budenholzer’s Bucks won it all in 2021 during his third season with the team. He was fired two years later. Now, Malone is another domino to fall, as the longtime Nuggets coach was let go while holding a 47-32 record two seasons after hoisting the Larry O’Brien.

Basketball is a business at the end of the day, but loyalty has been tested this year across the league. Championship-winning coaches are being fired even with a winning record. Superstars are getting traded in their primes without standoffs and formal requests. For the outsiders, it brings a dramatic flare to the league. For those in a position who could be affected, it’s becoming disturbing.