Mike Malone left the league this year as he was fired surprisingly by the Sacramento Kings. A lot of people criticized Malone’s firing, he was doing well with a Sacramento Kings team that hasn’t been able to do anything for years, and he was fighting for position in the West. DeMarcus Cousins got injured, and he was fired. Now he is looking to find another coaching position as the Denver Nuggets head coach. The position current Kings coach George Karl had 2 years ago.
According to Marc Stein of ESPN:
Sources told ESPN.com that Malone, who had his first interview with the Nuggets last week before the start of the NBA Finals, has solidified himself as a top candidate for the job alongside Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt.
It remains to be seen whether former Suns, Knicks and Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni will likewise get a second interview for the post after sitting down with Nuggets officials last week as well.
ESPN.com reported last month that the chances of Hunt retaining the job full time have improved in recent weeks. Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried are among the veterans in Denver wbo have publicly lobbied for Hunt to fill the post permanently.
The Nuggets had reportedly first wanted to keep Melvin Hunt who was the interim coach after Brian Shaw was fired during the year, but it looks like the surprisingly large amount of good coaches out there, they may want to look at their options. Mike D’Antonio, Vinny Del Negro, Jeff Van Gundy, and others have been mentioned in different coaching positions. Even if they get a good coach, the Nuggets will have a lot of work to do to become competitive in the Western Conference again.
