Paul Pierce on Nuggets firing Michael Malone: Players of this generation get their feelings hurt

April 9, 2025

Former Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce was no fan of the Denver Nuggets’ decision to fire coach Michael Malone. While ownership accepted responsibility for the stunning move, Pierce blamed modern NBA players.

For the record, an NBA source told Hoops Wire that some players didn’t like the “preferential treatment” Malone gave to stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Along with Malone, the Nuggets fired general manager Calvin Booth with just a few days left in the regular season.

“Player get they feelings hurt in this generation,” Pierce said on FS1. “‘Oh I don’t like him. He’s talking bad to me.’ Man, get on the line. You’re making $30 million a year. These players get they feelings hurt. I’m telling you, he’s a great coach. He’s won a championship.”

Pierce wasn’t finished.

“Joker is playing the best basketball of his career — again,” he added. “He might win (NBA) MVP, he might not. But now, because somebody’s feelings hurt in the locker room, ‘Oh we don’t like him, we don’t think we can win with him,’ it don’t matter. Get over your feelings.

“He’s a successful coach who’s brought you to the mountaintop, and now people’s feelings get hurt and now he’s out of there. That’s what it is.”

Whenever Jokic or Murray made mistakes on the defensive end, Malone would rarely call them out in film sessions, a source told Hoops Wire. Other players, though, were routinely bashed for messing things up.

Jokic and Murray have spent their entire careers with the Nuggets. Malone had a soft spot for both stars, which sometimes prevented him from criticizing them in front of the team.

That rubbed Denver players the wrong way.

Malone has the most wins in Nuggets franchise history. He’s expected to command a lot of interest on the open market.

Malone has coached the Sacramento Kings and Nuggets. He’s 510-394 in the regular season and 44-36 in the playoffs.

The Nuggets (47-32) sit in fourth place in the Western Conference standings — a race that is incredibly tight with just more than a week to go in the regular season.