Coach fired. GM shown the door. Where do Nuggets go from here?

A word of advice to whichever coach gets the Denver Nuggets job, or for that matter whoever wins the NBA title this year: Don’t buy your house, keep renting.

Winning a ring is no longer job security in the NBA. Case in point:

• 2020 Champion Lakers, Frank Vogel fired within two years.
• 2021 Champion Bucks, Mike Budenholzer fired within two years.
• 2023 Champion Nuggets, Michael Malone fired within two years.

It’s tough to shock the NBA in a post Doncic-trade world, but the Denver Nuggets did just that on Tuesday, firing Malone with less than a week to go in the season and the team sitting as the No. 4 seed in the West. The players were reportedly shocked when told by team owner Josh Kroenke, and players on other teams were just as confused.

The Nuggets had lost four in a row and were trending in the wrong direction (looking like they may fall into the play-in). Also, Malone and general manager Calvin Booth — also let go on Tuesday (technically, he did not have his contract renewed) — had their differences, but so do every coach and GM. Booth liked the young guys he drafted, while coach Malone, like all coaches, trusted proven veterans. This relationship was especially toxic, but still.

It’s not so much the firings themselves that caught the league by surprise, but the timing. Especially with Malone — who fires a coach a week before the playoffs? Both Malone and Booth reportedly were shocked by the move, too.

Maybe ownership saw that feud, saw the slide, saw all of it as a dumpster fire and they needed to do something.

But was this move throwing gasoline on that fire? Where do the Nuggets go from here?

Nuggets head into playoffs

In the short term, the Nuggets are still a playoff team. Good luck to David Adelman.

Ownership reportedly saw the shock of the firings as a “jolt” the team needed to right the ship.

“We’re trending towards a direction that I thought would probably be a very near end to our season in the near future,” Kroenke said in an interview released by the team. “All that taken into consideration, we wanted to find a way to potentially squeeze as much juice out of the rest of the season as possible.”

Is there any juice left to squeeze? The biggest challenge for the Nuggets during their recent slide — and for months — has been their defense, which is in the bottom 10 in the league since the All-Star break. However, there’s no silver bullet here, no simple tactical fix. What the Nuggets miss are the perimeter defenders that Booth let walk on orders to save money, players such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Russell Westbrook brings a lot of energy to the table, but not much defense when you need it.

The West playoffs will be brutal regardless of seed. What will matter most for Denver is health — Malone said earlier this week he “hoped” Jamal Murray would be back. They need him. More than that, they need 2023 Murray. Thanks to Jokic, the Nuggets are a threat in any series, but their margin for error is small and they will need peak Murray, Anthony Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and others to advance. Adelman, no matter how good he is, can only do so much.

Who is the next GM?

When the speculation starts about the next general manager in Denver, expect the big names to get thrown around. Former Warriors GM Bob Myers? Maybe luring Tim Connelly back (his contract in Minnesota is up)? Dennis Lindsey, who helped build these Pistons?

Don’t bet on a big name, for two reasons. First, big names cost big money, and that kind of spending has never been how the Kroenke family operates (with any of its properties, including the NFL’s Rams and the Premier League’s Arsenal). Booth is available in part because, after a season-long negotiation, he and the Kroenke family could not agree on how much to pay the man who was GM of a title team just two years ago. Now they are going to suddenly spend on a big name to replace him?

The other reason: This job is not as attractive as it seems from the outside. Sure, it has the foundation of Nikola Jokic, which means this team will be at least a fringe contender for years. But there isn’t much flexibility around him. Murray just inked a four-year, $208 million extension, while Aaron Gordon is locked in for three years, $104 million. Throw in Jokic’s max salary — which he can extend in 2027 — and this team is already flirting with the first apron of the luxury tax.

Also, Denver does not have its first-round draft pick this year (owed to Orlando), or in 2027 or 2029 (those two go to Oklahoma City, just for some salt in the wound). No building depth through the draft.

Denver’s new GM can explore trading Michael Porter Jr. for someone who is a better fit, but his market will be limited. The new GM will mostly try to find good role players on the cheap to go around this locked-in core. That’s not a situation enticing the biggest names.

Next coach faces challenge

The West is just brutal — and that is not changing anytime soon. Oklahoma City and Houston are the top two seeds in the conference and two of the youngest teams in the league, plus both are franchises laden win draft picks to keep restocking their rosters. The Lakers were just gifted with a bridge to the future in Luka Doncic. San Antonio and Victor Wembanyama are going to make a rapid ascent up the ranks in the next couple of years. Portland might be building something interesting.

Whoever takes over the helm in Denver is going to face a lot of pressure to win now, in a tight window, before 30-year-old Jokic’s jaw-dropping skills start to fade. Even a little.

It’s still a job a lot of coaches will want, but it’s not an easy one. That coach will have to get the most out of aging veterans while finding spots for inexpensive role players and young guys needing development.

And even if that coach does the near impossible and wins another title for the Nuggets, we all know his job is not safe.