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Three NBA coaches have been fired in a decision that left fans and other NBA staff confused.
Coach Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets, Taylor Jenkins of the Memphis Grizzlies, and Mike Budenholzer of the Phoenix Suns were fired in the last month. The decision – at least for Malone – was especially confusing since the team is likely to make a half-decent playoff run.
The Budenholzer firing was less confusing given the team’s disappointing season and missing the play-in tournament even with two star players and the most expensive roster in the NBA. Sources also cite “locker room issues” as a part of his departure.
Despite the unimpressive season, it’s important not to disregard the Suns’ history here. This is their third coach in five years. The person who will fill that now vacant position is yet to be determined. To me, the Suns coach firing points to a bigger issue of dispute between management and personnel and what happens when those with money get in the way.
On April 8, Michael Malone was let go of his position at the Denver Nuggets – who won the 2023 NBA Championship in historic fashion. The Nuggets posted a video on X which featured Josh Kroenke, Vice Chairman of KSE using corporate lingo to explain his decision.
He said, “trends were worrisome but they would get masked by a few wins here and there.” Despite the Nuggets being ranked fourth in the Western Conference, lists like these can be deceiving. As of April 17, Oklahoma City are first in the conference with a .829 win percentage. Next up are the Houston Rockets, a surprising pick but fall to a .634 win percentage. The Lakers are at third with a .610 and the Nuggets at fourth also with .610 win percentage.
While Malone’s firing was surprising, Jenkins’ firing was even more shocking especially regarding their stellar performance in the first half of the year. However, they have fallen to eighth in the Western Conference with a .585 win percentage.
According to ESPN, Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman said that “Urgency is a core principle of ours… My expectations are clarity of direction.” The same ESPN article highlighted some miscommunication issues between the general manager and Jenkins and said that Jenkins “lost the locker room.”
There are some key themes that pop time and time again in teams that don’t have a strong relationship between management and staff: miscommunication and micromanagement.
What is curious to me is why, in teams that fail, there seems to be such a battle between front office executives and coaches and players. Instead of being seen as one cohesive team, fans are left picking sides. Why do owners think they make the right decision for the team and players when, in the long run, it ends up hurting them more.
Ultimately, it’s a conversation about team culture and one I hope to cover more in depth in future articles. It’s also one that was emphasized by Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr. He said in a post game conference when he was asked on the matter: “I think one thing that’s happened is most teams are now owned by billionaires, big corporations. So we’re all more expendable. There is so much money in the business. We’re all making bigger salaries than five years ago but we’re much more vulnerable.”
It’s the eerie reality of sport in the modern day. With huge amounts of money being poured into sports teams, owners can seemingly do whatever they want– trade, fire, hire, or even relocate. What does that do to the players, culture, and fans who are committed to the team?
If you have the chance, please take a look at my other article published this month on the now relocated Seattle Supersonics. On this day, the NBA Board of Governors made the decision for Seattle to relocate to Oklahoma City in a lengthy and dramatic series of events. In that case, then Supersonics owner Howard Schultz was somewhat of a character and clashed with Supersonics point guard Gary Payton resulting in his trade.
I plan on revisiting this topic and looking more in depth about how sports are run– as a business and why it can be detrimental for cities and fans.