Carmelo Anthony Says Nikola Jokic Should've Called 'Bulls--t' on Michael Malone Firing

Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony sounded off on the organization's decision to fire head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.

Speaking about the situation on 7 PM in Brooklyn, a Wave Original, Anthony questioned the timing of the moves with the NBA playoffs right around the corner. From his perspective as a former player, he said getting rid of the head coach and GM sends a message that this season is "a wash."

"Y'all looking at this as a wash," he said. "They're already believing we can't do nothing internally."

Anthony asserted that Nuggets star Nikola Jokić should've spoken up to say Malone's dismissal was "bulls--t" if his relationship with the coach was in a good place.

The Nuggets have lost four games in a row, and they rank ninth in net rating, per NBA.com. While the team is clearly a contender, few would consider Denver to be a championship favorite.

More context is bound to surface about the thought process behind this shakeup, too.

"Tension had been brewing between Malone and Booth for quite some time, so much so that sources described it as a 'cold war,'" ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk reported Tuesday.

Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor also reported the two "never liked each other, rarely spoke, and talked behind each other's backs."

Still, it's hard to see the logic in cleaning house now.

Interim coach David Adelman has three games to get comfortable in the role and experiment with any new ideas before the playoffs are here.

Anthony pointed out how players are also likely to digest this news.

Firing just the head coach might be one thing. That could be read as a belief that a new voice on the sideline is all that's needed. Ousting the GM in tandem with the coach looks like an indictment of the roster because you don't fire a general manager if you thought he assembled a strong squad.

Maybe Jokić could've prevented this by approaching ownership, but that doesn't seem like something he'd do given his laid-back demeanor. His relationship with Malone may even have started to sour, which is always the assumption about a star player and coach in these situations.

Whatever the case, it's on Nuggets ownership to manage the fallout because this could have a huge ripple effect on Jokić's future and whether Denver remains a perennial playoff threat.