Denver Nuggets owner Josh Krohnke held a press conference to discuss his decision to double fire.
The Denver Nuggets made a big decision when they fired Coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.
Although the decision has received much criticism, Nuggets felt that the situation behind the breakdown of the relationship between the pair and four consecutive losses was unsustainable.
Denver was at risk of falling into a play-in tournament. Under interim head coach David Adelman, they won three consecutive games.
I have no regrets in the short term, but it’s just that the decision wasn’t made early.
ESPN’s Tim McMahon reported that the Denver Nuggets were keen to fire Michael Malone and Calvin Booth in the All-Star break.
Speaking at a post-regular season press conference, Josh Kroenke acknowledged that he had two opportunities to consider the move.
He then admitted that the report on the All-Star break was true, but the fact that Nikola Djokic led the team to eight straight wins made it unrealistic.
Kroenke said at a press conference:
“So, am I doing what I did last week or did it with an eight-game win, what’s crazy?”
Kroenke has reportedly instructed players on Nuggets to play with freedom, and he knows that his decision was not guaranteed or the timing was correct, but he supports it.
He added: “There’s no real, correct answer to the questions I have to ask from time to time, but my feelings and my beliefs were more in that locker room and that was what I did.”
No one deserves to fire three games before the end of the regular season, when the team is in playoff positions.
NBA legend Kevin Garnett criticized Kroenke and said Malone could have seen the season, and the playoffs included.
Kroenke acknowledged that the timing was not ideal and hoped he was confident that he had decided his decision sooner.
“Frankly, neither of them deserved it. And I apologize for it. I had to be better at various points.”