Nuggets' Booth Reportedly Was 'Dismayed' by Malone Playing Westbrook over Pickett

The Denver Nuggets made seismic changes Tuesday, firing head coach Michael Malone and announcing that the team will not extend the contract of general manager Calvin Booth, whose deal expires after this season.

Now reports are emerging from the fallout, and The Athletic trio of Tony Jones, Sam Amick and Zach Powell revealed how Booth and Malone had multiple disagreements, including the head coach's decision to play veteran Russell Westbrook over third-year guard Jalen Pickett.

"Malone and Booth had been at odds over everything from roster construction to the way players were used, creating tension that started to bleed into the rest of the organization. Booth wanted Malone to use younger players that he drafted and wanted Malone to stray away from using veterans for so many minutes.

"Jalen Pickett is a good example of this, according to league sources. Booth was dismayed that Malone went with Russell Westbrook over Pickett down the stretch of multiple games last week. On a macro level, Booth and Malone disagreed on several things."

The decisions to move on from Malone and Booth occurred despite the team sitting 47-32, good enough for fourth place in the Western Conference with three regular season games left.

However, Denver has been sliding of late, losing four straight and seven of its last 10. Injuries have certainly played a role, with Jamal Murray missing the last five games with a strained right hamstring.

Still, Denver is 8-13 in its last 21 games, including five losses in its last seven home matchups. One of them was a 126-123 defeat to a 17-61 Washington Wizards team that has the Eastern Conference's worst record.

So things clearly weren't going well in Denver, although the firings with just three games left were still shocking.

Ultimately, the Pickett-Westbrook debate between Booth and Malone was just one of a multitude of problems. And now Denver clearly felt the situation in town deteriorated so much that the leadership in the front office and on the court has been removed less than two years after the franchise won its first-ever championship.