What forced the Nuggets to clean house in NBA shocker: players were freakin miserable

Hidden behind the Nuggets’ years of success was a toxic, tension-filled environment that began to spew into all levels of the organization.It began near the top of the organization between head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth, and when the wins started turning into losses, their negative energy spilled over into the locker room.This led to Malone and Booth’s firings — only a shock to those not close to the situation.“Everybody in the organization was miserable,” a Nuggets source said, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelburne.

“That’s what [Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke] felt.It’s a bad vibe.

You can’t operate like that.He felt that if he removed those two people, everybody could just focus on doing their job.

Change needed to happen.”Malone and Booth’s head-butting primarily arose from their differing opinions regarding which players were most crucial to the team — Booth wanted younger guys he drafted to be developed and prioritized, while Malone wanted proven veterans to work alongside Nikola Jokic while he ran the show.“They just saw the world completely differently … The situation was just unsustainable,” team sources told the outlet.“Coach Malone and Calvin couldn’t fix it because they made the situation all about themselves.”This caused an unhealthy relationship that manifested essentially everywhere. “If you’re one of Calvin’s guys, Malone doesn’t want to play you,” a team source said.With this, players were beginning to listen to their coach less and less, as “the players were freakin’ miserable,” and “the effort would come and go.”Malone had long been the outspoken face of the team, while stars Jokic and Jamal Murray were typically quieter leaders.

And while Malone’s messages had been well received for years, things weren’t clicking this season as players watched their organizational leaders feud.Kroenke had to make a decision, but with the team alread...