Michael Malone will be coaching once more after a brief respite after the Denver Nuggets named him to succeed prior head coach Brian Shaw who was fired last March 3.
Malone inherits a team that is severely in disarray though he is expected to employ the same atmosphere he was able to instill in Sacramento.
The Sacramento Kings unceremoniously fired Malone in only his second year as head coach after the Kings started the season with a poor 11-13 start. The Kings didn't have resident star DeMarcus Cousins at that time who was out due to an illness.
Tyrone Corbin served on an interim basis until the Kings officially named George Karl to be the new head coach.
Malone beat out other candidates like interim coach Melvin Hunt and Mike D' Antoni for the position.
Malone has been known to focus on defense and such could be something to expect next season. But the question now is who Malone will have on his roster.
Prior to the announcement, rumors swirled that Nugget stars Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried could be traded soon. But with Malone in tow, all plans and trades could be on hold for now and may largely depend if players like Lawson and Faried can get along well and fit into the system that Malone is expected to employ.
This will be his second head coaching duty after the Sacramento Kings. Malone has been around since 2001 serving as an assistant coach first with the New York Knicks.
After the Knicks, Malone also served as an assistant to the Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-2010), New Orleans Hornets (2010-11) and the Golden State Warriors (2011-2013).
The Denver Nuggets will be selecting 7th in the coming NBA Draft so it will be interesting who Malone will target. Such is the same case in NBA Free Agency since the Nuggets are expected to skim the available talent and rebuild according to what Malone feels is necessary for the team to get back on track.
