Nuggets Shockingly Firing Michael Malone Will Heavily Impact Lakers' Playoff Chances

On Tuesday morning, the 47-32 Denver Nuggets stunningly fired now-former head coach Michael Malone with just three games remaining in their 2024-25 regular season, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

This is tied for the latest coaching change in NBA history, per ESPN Research, matching Hubie Brown in 1980-81. https://t.co/9MeAjEuAQo
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 8, 2025

Denver also let go general manager Calvin Booth in a house cleaning that has absolutely undermined the team's postseason chances. As Charania details, Denver has elevated lead assistant coach David Adelman to finish out the year on an interim basis.

Lead assistant David Adelman will serve as the interim head coach for the Nuggets, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/DD3Y6eDJVT
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 8, 2025

Denver majority owner Josh Kroenke issued a statement explaining the Malone decision, per longtime NBA insider Chris Haynes.

Denver Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke: “While the timing of this decision is unfortunate, as Coach Malone helped build the foundation of our now championship level program, it is a necessary step to allow us to compete at the highest level right now. Championship level standards and…
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) April 8, 2025

“While the timing of this decision is unfortunate, as Coach Malone helped build the foundation of our now championship level program, it is a necessary step to allow us to compete at the highest level right now," team owner Kroenke said. "Championship level standards and expectations remain in place for the current season, and as we look to the future, we look forward to building on the foundations laid by Coach Malone over his record-breaking 10-year career in Denver.”

Considering that Denver literally won the title just two years ago, and was kneecapped more by ownership frugality and questionable front office decision-making than anything else, this is a bonkers thing to say about one of the league's top coaches.

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Luckily for Los Angeles, instability among now two Western Conference rivals essentially means Los Angeles now has leapfrogged both the Nuggets and the Memphis Grizzlies (who let go head coach Taylor Jenkins just weeks ago) as one of the more postseason-ready teams in the West.

Denver has often been a thorn in the Lakers' sides. The Nuggets gave the title-bound Lakers a real rock fight in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, swept them in a 2023 Western Conference Finals rematch, and lambasted them 4-1 in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. That last defeat prompted Los Angeles general manager Rob Pelinka to fire his own then-head coach, Darvin Ham, after just two seasons.

Now, with head coach JJ Redick at the helm and five-time All-NBA First Team guard Luka Doncic on the roster alongside incumbents LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers are 48-30 on the year and are hoping to hold on to the West's No. 3 seed heading into the playoffs.

Los Angeles seems to have the basic internal stability that at least two of its top nemeses clearly lack in the waning days of the regular season. Assuming all of L.A.'s top nine are healthy, the sky could be the limit — at least until the Lakers have to play the 64-14 Oklahoma City Thunder.

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