NEW YORK — At the end of March, the Memphis Grizzlies carried out one of the most shocking coach firings in recent memory, letting Taylor Jenkins go with just nine games remaining in the regular season. Not to be outdone, the Denver Nugget decided to one-up them on Tuesday afternoon. They fired head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth with just two regular-season games left.
Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke’s message to his team after the surprising move? “Play hard and have fun,” he told Altitude TV’s Vic Lombardi in an interview shortly after the news broke. Denver assistant David Adelman will serve as the interim head coach for the time being.
Before the Boston Celtics’ game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, both Joe Mazzulla and Tom Thibodeau shared their reactions to the news.
Joe Mazzulla's reaction to Michael Malone firing was predictable: 'You sign up knowing that'
When asked about the move, Mazzulla smirked, knowing exactly what his response to the question was going to be. “There you go,” he said. “Coaching. It’s just coaching.”
Mazzulla has been very adamant about his take on the volatility of coaching, and in the case of Malone, he chose to reflect on his tenure rather than harp on his exit.
“You sign up knowing that [you can get fired at any time]. And again, he was where, he was 10 years there? I mean, that's a lot,” Mazzulla said. “So, you hope for stuff like that. You hope for a situation of stability. To be somewhere for as long as you have, and when it's your time, it's your time. But I think you focus more on the fact that he was able to be there for 10 years.
“Not many coaches get to do that. I think there's only two left—three left now. Pop, Spo, and Kerr are the only ones who have gone as long as 10. So, you hope for that, but you know that not everybody gets that opportunity.”
For Mazzulla, there are no guarantees. He chooses to live his life in the realm of uncertainty, never knowing whether or not he’ll be back in the head coach’s seat at TD Garden.
“It's part of what motivates me, but I wake up every day saying, 'This could be my last day.' You have to have that type of perspective because it gives you gratitude, and it also keeps you hungry,” he explained. “And so, it's just, you have to have a healthy balance of, you want this for as long as you can, and at the same time, you're very much replaceable, because that's just how it works.
“So, every day, I remind myself of my own mortality, and I think that's what kind of keeps me in a perspective and a gratitude of the opportunity that you.”
Meanwhile, Thibodeau, who had a closer relationship with Malone, was simply disappointed.
“Just disappointment,” said the Knicks coach. “I mean, it's the unfortunate part of the business. I've known Michael for decades. Unbelievable family. Great coach. So, you hate to see it, particularly when you know he had been there so long. And I also worked with Calvin Booth, who's you terrific guy as well. But Michael just did a phenomenal job there, and it's really unfortunate.”
With two shocking coach firings in the span of two weeks, Thibodeau also reflected on the odd nature of the decisions. He expressed the importance of having a united front as well, which, evidently, the Nuggets and Grizzlies did not have.
“It's unusual, but I think it's maybe a byproduct of where we are today with all that goes on,” Thibodeau said. “And that's where, hopefully, you have people that can remain calm. You win together. You lose together. You work through things together. So, I think that's an important part of this business.”
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