Is Mike Malone the Right Coach to Get the Denver Nuggets Back on Track?
Mike Malone might get the Denver Nuggets where they want to go, but only if one of the NBA's most historically uptempo franchises is willing to travel more slowly.
On Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported that Malone is Denver's choice to fill its head coaching vacancy:
"The Denver Nuggets have reached an agreement to hire Michael Malone as coach, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 15, 2015"
The team confirmed the news with an official release, in which Malone expressed his excitement: "I’m thrilled to have been chosen as the next leader for the Denver Nuggets and I can’t wait to get started. My family and I are looking forward to being a part of the Denver community."
In some ways, Malone's securing a new gig six months after losing his old one shouldn't be a surprise.
He did a fine job with a rebuilding Sacramento Kings team in his short time there, and it was generally accepted that he got a raw deal when he was fired during DeMarcus Cousins' bout of meningitis last December. Before losing Boogie, Malone had led the Kings to a surprising 9-6 start.
A longtime assistant who helped build the defensive foundation currently propelling the Golden State Warriors in the Finals, Malone has been well-liked by players despite maintaining a gruff, no-nonsense demeanor.
Former King Isaiah Thomas voiced support for Malone's hiring on Twitter:
"Hell yeah!! RT @WojYahooNBA: The Denver Nuggets have reached an agreement to hire Michael Malone as coach, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) June 15, 2015"
And let's not forget that Malone got the best out of Cousins, coaxing a modicum of professionalism and defensive effort out of one of the league's most mercurial, talented stars. Cousins liked Malone, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee; that fact alone marks Malone as a coach worth hiring.
At the same time, from a stylistic perspective, he's the last guy you'd ever expect to land the Nuggets job.
Malone's 2013-14 Kings ranked 14th in pace and were tied for 19th in offensive efficiency, according to NBA.com. In his abbreviated tenure last year, Malone slowed the Kings down even more, as they ranked 17th in pace and were tied for 15th in offensive efficiency.
Part of the reason Malone lost his job in Sacramento was because he never built the uptempo, movement-heavy offense management wanted. A limited roster made that tough, as SB Nation's Tom Ziller pointed out after Malone was fired in December: "Malone has been trying to win with what he has, which means a ton of post play, slashing and not so much in the way of passing."
Adding to the strangeness, Malone will be reunited with Pete D'Alessandro, whom the Nuggets recently hired as their senior vice president of business and team operations. Malone was already in place when D'Alessandro became the Kings general manager, an unusual arrangement that often ends badly for the coach.
D'Alessandro beat Malone to the Nuggets by three days this time around, but you'd have to expect some tension, or at least an ideological divide, between the two after the way things played out in Sacramento.
Mike Prada of SB Nation laid out the awkward reunion this way:
Rotoworld's Aaron Bruski thinks there's a third option in play that explains the hire:
Even if things work out between Malone and D'Alessandro, this is still an odd coach-team marriage.
The Nuggets' chief historical advantage has been Denver's altitude. Visiting teams tire out more easily a mile above sea level, a fact which the Nuggs have exploited for decades. In fact, since coming into existence in the 1974-75 season, the Nuggets have had the league's highest average pace, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
In that span, Denver's home win percentage of 64.9 percent has been the league's ninth-best mark. That's incredible, especially when measured against its overall win percentage of just 48.6 percent, which is tied for 18th.
Hiring a coach who prefers playing fast and loose would have made sense for the Nuggets' historical profile, but it also would have maximized the value of the current roster.
For that reason, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated thinks Malone's hiring could point to some personnel changes:
Point guard Ty Lawson doesn't get better when his best asset, speed, is minimized in a half-court game. Likewise, Kenneth Faried hasn't shown signs of being a useful player in a slow-it-down, defense-first setup.
They can both run for days, though.
That's why Mike D'Antoni was such a clear (and fun) fit, as RealGM's Daniel Leroux lamented:
It seems unlikely Malone will dramatically change his style. He's a principled coach who preaches accountability, and his track record as a defensive-minded assistant suggests his success will more likely come from rigid structure than flexibility.
Maybe that's what Denver has decided it needs: a coach who'll build a foundation, demand accountability and, ideally, create a winning culture. Maybe he got the job because the Nuggets are tired of being defined by chaos and want to see what order looks like.
All of those home wins built on gimmicky offense haven't exactly led to loads of postseason success. After all, the Nuggets have made it past the first round of the playoffs just once in the past two decades.
Malone isn't Doug Moe, Paul Westhead or George Karl. Barring a stunning change, he won't treat home games like track meets. Chances are Malone will be himself, and the Nuggets will play the slower, more regimented style he prefers.
Denver seems to be giving up its identity, but given the organization's overall lack of success, that might not be the worst thing in the world.
Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @gt_hughes.
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