Report: Nikola Jokic grew frustrated by Michael Malone’s fiery ways

According to NBA insiders Tony Jones and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic grew frustrated by Michael Malone’s fiery ways.

The Nuggets fired Malone on Tuesday. 

“The Nuggets’ locker room was a mess, with team and league sources indicating that the franchise’s most important players, including three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, had grown frustrated and fatigued by Malone’s fiery ways,” Jones and Amick wrote.

After the Nuggets lost to the lowly Washington Wizards at home in March, rival teams began to hear that Jokić’s patience was wearing thin with the sad state of affairs in Denver. 

“When it came to Malone and his level of support in the locker room, team and league sources say the bottom started to fall out in mid-March,” Jones and Amick wrote. “The home loss against Washington was a new low, with the tanking Wizards scoring at will in a 126-123 win that left Jokić fuming afterward. The defense, which was eighth in the league last season and top 16 in each of the previous six seasons, had fallen to 22nd at that time (it’s currently 21st). At the time, league sources say, rival teams began to hear that Jokić’s patience was wearing thin with the sad state of affairs.”

The Nuggets defeated the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday in their first game without Malone. David Adelman will be the interim head coach for the rest of the season and postseason. 

“The bottom line is that we have to stay unified,” Adelman said. “It’s been a moment. You have to deal with it. For all of us moving to different roles, we have to remember that we are in the mix here. We still have a chance to do something special.”

Denver has two games left in the regular season against the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets. 

The Nuggets are 48-32. They are in fourth place in the West.