Rumors

Jake Fischer: There's a ton of skepticism around the league that Michael Malone—with a similar personality and coaching style to Tom Thibodeau—is going to ultimately be the man on New York's sideline at the end of the day. I'd say there's also plenty of skepticism that Mike Budenholzer would be that man as well. So I think we're going to hear names that are potentially lower down on the totem pole in terms of proven veteran playoff success. I think we're going to be hearing names like Mike Brown, the former head coach in Sacramento—his name's already been linked to the job. Taylor Jenkins, the former Grizzlies head coach, might be the most respected coach available on the market right now. There are a ton of questions about whether or not New York will go back to their own well and try to bring Cavs assistant Johnny Bryant back to Madison Square Garden. That's not something I've been able to confirm yet, but it's definitely something people are wondering about, as he was a finalist for the head coaching job in Phoenix and, of course, was part of the Eastern Conference–leading Cleveland Cavaliers coaching staff this season.

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There’s a clear favorite to take over the Knicks’ head coaching job. After the franchise fired Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday, Michael Malone is the early front-runner to take over the position, according to oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook. Malone, who was fired by the Nuggets with a week to go in the regular season after a decade as Denver’s head coach, is an early +125 favorite to be on the Knicks’ sideline come the fall.

New York Post

Despite former Nuggets coach Michael Malone wanting to re-sign him, according to league sources, Holiday has floated in the wind for a year. When Denver last saw him, he was making a major impact early in that fateful Timberwolves series of 2024 … until he went scoreless in 38 minutes across the last three games.

Denver Post

How do you compartmentalize the loyalty you have for Coach Malone—he brought you here—to what happened that day and now you’re taking his job? How difficult is that? David Adelman: It’s difficult. But like I said, I think we all know that as you move up in this league, you’re taking somebody’s job one way or the other. What he did here is never going to be forgotten. He’s the greatest coach in the history of this franchise—it's not even close. His leadership ability, the staff that he brought in, the ability to develop the players—those things are incredible positives. You feel mixed feelings because you feel proud that you were a part of it with him, and then you feel proud that you made progression as a coach because of him. So it’s a weird feeling. You think about him and his family. And then there’s this flip side of you that goes: I can’t thank him enough—for one, the opportunity to come here; but two, to be ready to take this job—it’s because of him.

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This season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 8.8 free throw attempts, making 7.7, but the past two games against the Minnesota Timberwolves have seen an increase. He attempted 14 in Game 1 and 15 in Game 2 as Michael Malone called him a “foul artist” on ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt show. “I think that’s an easy way to put it. Obviously, you watch the last series against Denver. I’ll tell you what, you got to be ultra disciplined,” Malone said. “Yeah, it’s almost impossible. You think about trying to guard the best offensive players in the league nowadays, it becomes almost impossible. Any contact, a lot of times, offensive players like Shai will initiate the contact, will hook his arm, looking to draw that contact.” “He is a foul artist, as I mentioned earlier today,” Malone said. “So discipline, and you’re hoping that the referees read how the game is being whistled after allowing you to be a little bit more aggressive. You can do that. But once again, he’s been living at the foul line. 14 free throw attempts game, 15 tonight, that’s not going to get it done.”

Clutch Points

"I did vote for him again this year, if I had a vote," Malone, appearing as a guest analyst on ESPN before Game 2 between the Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves, said of Jokic, his longtime former star. "Want to make sure the people in Denver know that because right now, I'm getting a lot of heat back home."

ESPN

Shams Charania: The Denver Nuggets and interim David Adelman have agreed on a deal to make Adelman the franchise's next head coach, sources tell ESPN. Adelman went 3-0 in regular season after taking over for Michael Malone and won a playoff series, leading Denver to one win from the West finals.

x.com

Underdog: "[Shai] showed why he's the MVP." Mike Malone, former coach of the Denver Nuggets, calls Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the MVP 👀

Twitter

DNVR Nuggets: Mike Malone: "David Adelman did a hell of a job utilizing a zone defense" vs. OKC 👀

x.com

Michael Malone, who was fired by the Denver Nuggets with three games remaining in the regular season, will join ESPN for its coverage of the Western Conference finals. The series beginning Tuesday night matches the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who eliminated Malone's former team in seven games in the second round.

ESPN

Malone will work on the "NBA Countdown" pregame and halftime studio show that will be on-site at all the games in the series, joining Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Bob Myers, Kendrick Perkins and Shams Charania.

ESPN

The Nuggets can create a second coaching opening but are naturally expected to give strong consideration to simply naming interim coach David Adelman as the full-time successor to Michael Malone after Adelman landed in two Game 7s in his maiden taste of the playoffs as a head coach after replacing Malone with just three games to go in the regular season. Reminder: The other three interim coaches in the NBA this season — San Antonio's Mitch Johnson, Sacramento's Doug Christie and Memphis' Tuomas Iisalo — all ultimately landed the full-time job.

marcstein.substack.com

Sam Amick: When they fired Michael Malone and Calvin Booth, we had stuff that's already out there about the fact that one of the things that ended up tripping Malone up at the end was that he was giving the star treatment to Joker, to Jamal, and to Russ. and that locker room was like, ‘Wait a minute, like two of these things are not like the other.’ And that caused issues.

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Eight days later, interim coach David Adelman showed how he was going to take a firmer hand in managing Westbrook. Former coach Mike Malone, multiple sources said, had erred on the side of giving Westbrook the kind of latitude on and off the court that Jokic and Murray got -- which didn't sit well with everyone. And which, ironically, was why Westbrook wasn't in town when Malone and general manager Calvin Booth both were fired and Adelman was given the job on an interim basis.

ESPN