Mike Malone Heads to Cancun

Mike Malone and Calvin Booth both get the axe in Denver. ESPN immediately dialed Ramona Shelbourne from her car. Destination unconfirmed and she was indeed parked. OKC takes down the Lakers as Luka is ejected in the 4th. Suns lucky to not lose by a 1000.

Dodgers on a three game losing streak. Baseball injuries beginning to take shape as Freddie Freeman heads to DL (slipped in shower) and Jackson Merrill joins him not a week after signing his $135m extension (hammy).

Masters week. Scottie hosts a glorified Yardhouse dinner.

How does a championship head coach get fired 4 days from the playoffs? Why did Denver chuck the GM too? Reports suggest that two factions emerged: dudes aligned with Malone and dudes aligned with Booth. My hypothesis (and I’d hate to be right) is that Malone played Russell Westbrook beyond what Calvin Booth could stomach. Westbrook never has a problem playing hard and Malone rewarded that.

Malone on Westbrook following the April 2nd loss to the Timberwolves:
- “I know who Russell Westbrook is. He's a guy that hates to lose...he's a perfectionist." ​

- "When people talk about Russell Westbrook, nobody mentions defense…" ​

Booth (who is partially to blame considering he signed Russ) probably wanted more minutes for “his guys” i.e. Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, and Julian Strauther.

Remember, Denver’s lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown in the last two offseasons. To replace them, Booth found prospects in Braun, Watson, and Strauther. Add Russ to the mix, and suddenly the Booth Boys have less to eat.

Denver is another Kroenke Enterprises Franchise, but Josh Kroenke runs this much more than Stan (LA Rams, Arsenal). After losing Tim Connelly to Wolves, Josh has another house to clean while Daddy Stan enjoys LA (Sean McVay and Les Snead).

Open questions: did Russ somehow cost the GM and the coach their jobs? That would be a first. What does Jokic want? He’s the singular most valuable asset in the sport. Can we call the Big Guy before we make these moves? Who coaches Denver in 2025? It’s an amazing role no matter what you think of Jamaal Murray, Aaron Gordon, or Michael Porter, Jr. Where do they turn? The NBA is in a different spot than the NFL. The NFL operates with a typically exciting list of coaching candidates (Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel this year. Sean Payton, Jim Harbaugh in years past). Getting a jump on the coaching carousel is a real NFL strategy with direct results. Watching Denver blow this up with no obvious replacements feels a lot like PHX moving on from Monty Williams (warranted), then Frank Vogel, and winding up with Mike Budenholzer (also heading to Cancun). Is Giannis in a better spot after after firing Adrian Griffin and landing with Doc Rivers?

There’s big hypothetical swings Denver can take. Does Brad Stevens leave Boston with new ownership taking over? Is Bob Myers intrigued by Jokic enough to take this roster over? Who mans the sideline? If Denver can’t get the right team in place, we might waste years of the best center we’ve seen in decades.