Before Mike Malone was the head coach of the Denver Nuggets, he held the same position with the Sacramento Kings.
Malone was in his second year with the Kings in 2014 when they jumped out to a 9-6 start. Things were going good; expectations for the team weren't particularly high. Then Sacramento's best player, DeMarcus Cousins, caught viral meningitis. The Kings floundered without him, going 2-7 in nine games.
On Dec. 14, 2014, Sacramento fired Malone. The Kings were 11-13 at the time. It was a head-scratching move. The Kings were hot garbage before Malone got there, and they were winning until Cousins got sick.
Friday, Malone took a little time to reflect on his time in Sacramento on a podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski.
“I’m going to write a book one day," Malone quipped. "Viral meningitis got me fired."
Zing!
Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly also appeared on the podcast. Wojnaroski, Connelly and Malone discussed the working relationship between a GM and a coach.
You can listen to the whole podcast here.
