Calvin Booth Reportedly 'Was Livid' Malone Didn't Play Peyton Watson in 2024 WCF Semis

One of the major disconnects between former Denver Nuggets' head coach Mike Malone and general manager Calvin Booth came down to roster decisions.

That came to a head during the 2023-24 playoffs.

According to Bennett Durando of the Denver Post, "Booth was livid at Malone for not playing second-year wing Peyton Watson in Game 7 against the Timberwolves last season when the Nuggets blew a 20-point lead in a stunning season-ending loss, sources said. Subsequently, Malone wanted Watson to play on Denver's Summer League team going into his third NBA season, accentuating the massive disconnect in their evaluations of young players."

In general, Durando noted that Booth preferred a "draft-and-develop ideology" to building out the roster behind the team's core of Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon, while Malone "believed Booth made roster moves to force him into playing Booth's unseasoned draft picks" and "grew increasingly frustrated with roster construction after the Nuggets forsook their right to match contract offers for Kenatvious Caldwell-Pope."

That rift—and the dysfunction and paranoia it caused throughout the rest of the organization—led to the Nuggets firing Malone with just three games left in the regular season and announcing that Booth's contract would not be renewed after the 2024-25 campaign. In a battle of wills, both Malone and Booth lost.