Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 112. (Read 921455 times)

Yes, sad but true, even if they were offered big contracts, at the end of the day, they are still vulnerable to the management's decision and I do not think that they can win against them. So Malone not seeing eye to eye with the GM will have it's consequences sooner or later.

We can add to that list is Monty Williams. He brought the Suns to the finals against the Bucks, unfortunately, they didn't win because Giannis did play a monster championship finals. But the same outcome, 2 years later he is gone as well.

Of course, you should be bothered, you brought a ring in the city and at least the management should value it. However, and I think others will agree that coaches are the first to suffer and the first one to blame.


It's going to be a great Western conference battle, I like the Thunder chances again and I think they have matured and still very solid team even if they traded Josh Giddey, they still have SGA to lead the team. And we all know that Klay is with the Dallas now, so they also could have a good run at the position, they haven't been in top 3, so this could be their first time under Luka. And we have the Wolve's as well with KAT, also improving so let's see how's his form this season. Just a month to go though, and for sure NBA fans are excited one again.

But you have to find that another piece to make the team great again. It was a blue print set up by the great Phil Jackson. So it one piece has left like KCP, they will have to find a replacement, but can WB that kind of player? They totally play different, that's why I think mentorship might be the role of WB with them. Yes, high octane player, maybe it could translate to more points for him or his team. He was one a great passer, and could still be if given enough time in the court. That's why the first year of WB will be critical for the Nuggets, and then the issue with their coach and management could be a background noise that could affect the psychology of the team.

He is not injury prone with the Clippers because he wasn't given enough playing time, unlike when he was with the Wizards, prior to joining the Lakers, he was still like a prime version of him and the first or second option with the team. But with a lot of superstars in the Clippers when he was still there, his playing time diminishes.

Not just 3 point shooting, his outside shooting in general. We have seen teams daring him to shoot that 3 and it was all bricks. That's why they call him Westbrick because of his bad shooting percentage. But he signs a 2 year contract so enough time for him to have this extend his career and it hangs whether what role he will do with them and help the team to win another ring.

This is true and that's reality and I think every Coach knows that.

Their jobs are always on the brink whenever they make a bad season. I think it's Coach Spoelstra and Coach Popovich which was loved by their management because whatever happened to their teams, they still kept their job.
But for others, it's always like their one foot in the grave for their jobs. I was actually shocked when Coach Budenholzer was fired, that was just some nasty management unable to take the blame on themselves and that's why they pinned it all on their coach but I know people/fans already know about this.
For Coach Malone, he should be ready for anything because I bet they are just waiting for him to make a mistake. Just like the other coaches you mentioned, they are fired after 2 years of being a champ and it looks like it's becoming a norm in the league.

I didn't think kcp was going to be a huge loss and not convinced he is the missing piece for orlando.  Russ will be fine so long as he just plays that energy role.  But make no mistake about it, this team lives and dies with jokic, Murray and MPJ.  Everyone else around them are just pieces to the puzzle amd are interchangeable.  Should be a huge change either way

There are too many players that got worse over time and their playing style doesn't fit the aging issue, Westbrook could be one of them. Denever is a great team but they are not a dominant team and I think it's clear that we are not going to see them have something that could change so much.

We should consider the situation to be a little bit different and we could be considering the situation very sensitive for Denver because if they can use their cards right and win one or two more rings that would be awesome for them, if not they are going to end up god knows how long until they can get another ring again in the future. They have what it takes to win one right now, with additions and all ,they can make that work, it's possible, but that would be something they have to do now, right away.

Here’s the post (tweet?) where it was announced that I saw. I see now that it was reported by Legon Sports and not Legion Sports, so it is very possibly not true. The post has 35K likes, so I figured it was legitimate, but now I believe that many people were bamboozled by it. I need to start blocking these lookalike accounts. Getting 35K likes on fake news is wild.

https://x.com/legonhoop/status/1833268109677117926

I will remember Cedi Osman as the one who spit his mouthpiece while taking that free throw back when he's with the Cavaliers. After that, he said to the mouthpiece "Yo, why you flying out of my mouth."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s4YmC70WYw
Anyway, I agree with what you said that he isn't a NBA caliber anymore and he might be a role player, but he doesn't have any performance that I consider as impactful back when he's in Cleveland and in San Antonio. It's good that he has given another opportunity outside the NBA. Who knows? He might be more efficient there and with his NBA experience, that would be helpful to the team where he's playing with.

I don't think that Coach Malone bothers if he's getting fired or not. After all, their GM did all these bad decisions enough for his will to get another title with Denver dissipate. Their GM isn't that popular TBH, and I will not know him as well if only I didn't watch any NBA-related videos on YouTube.

I agree with what you said that Jokic, Murray alongside Gordon and Porter Jr. are good players no doubt, but outside of them. Who are the good role players that can help them? They are good, but they can't afford to play 40+ minutes per game. They need the help of their role players and as of their current roster, there aren't good role player with the team. Not even Westbrook is what I consider as good with his current state of his career. You said already that the West is very competitive, and the Nuggets won the title 2 years ago because of their depth.

As for who will be the number 1 during the regular season with the West, I will not be surprised if it will be the Thunder again because they just acquired Caruso which is a good defender, and Hartenstein which is a good back-up center alongside young and talented players. The Nuggets? With their current roster, I predict they will be at the bottom 4 unless they will get good role players mid-season.

Are you sure abut that? I didn't hear anything about it and just checked google and couldn't find anything. But yeah, despite him saying he wants to run it back it would also make sense to call it quits now, couldn't have a better timing.
He still looks good on the field but after all he is already 38 years old.
Going out on top is always a great decision. If you don't need the money and have finally fulfilled the one goal in the league, getting a ring, it's no shame to retire and spend time with the family. Fun fact, he is married to 2003 Miss Universe. Not a bad woman to hang out with more from now on. 

I read that Al Horford has finally decided to call it quits. I thought he said after the season he wanted to run it back, but it seems old age may have gotten the best of him as it seems his mind has been made up and he’s retiring an NBA champion. Can’t hate the man for going out on top. I wonder what this says about the Celtics…

To not quote a long psot im gonna writte here without quoting.

Coach Malone is not gonna be out of Denver Nuggets, when Denver doesnt win anything they dont put him in doubt so now with a ring in his finger is less and less probable to see him going out of the team, plus seems like Denver took the San Antonio Spurs model with coach Pop and give them a full support like Spurs do with Popovich.

I dont like Malone so much if you ask me, but he is stilla  good coach and in the other hand, who can replace him with sure confidence?

He may not be injury-prone, but he's inconsistent. That's the reason why he's been moving from team to team after being a superstar with OKC. If you look at his production, it's really going down, he averaged only 11 PPG last season with the Clippers. Well, that's understandable since his minutes were limited, but from being a triple-double machine, this is where he's at now.

A big problem I see with Westbrook is his poor 3-point shooting, he only shot 27% last season. Sometimes, defenders just let him take the shot, and that can really hurt his confidence, especially when they leave you wide open and you still can't make the shot.

What they can look forward with Westbrook is he not a injury prone type of player and he played a lot of games with Clippers. Imagine he played more with their main star and in that case they get what they paid for Westbrook.

Now Nuggets have him I think they can facilitate him well and bring back his confidence. If that happen then Nuggets would provably enjoy what Weskbrook could bring in their table. For now the only thing we can see is people criticizing him for his past team transfer and questionable performance. But if Nuggets could able to manage him well, he provably became a good piece for Nuggets to win a championship this season.

I agree with you and I also believe that Coach Malone deserves to stay longer with the team. He didn't tank last season, and reaching the semifinals is still a success. Unless the Nuggets are solely focused on getting a back-to-back championship while ignoring how other teams are improving, they should see that progress is still being made. Other teams are constantly getting better, so making it that far shows the Nuggets are still competitive.


If I remember correctly, the times when Coach Budenholzer and Coach Vogel were fired, it was because their teams were already struggling in the regular season. It’s been a while, but from what I recall, their teams had sudden struggles. Compared to the Nuggets, they didn’t really struggle. If you look at last season, the Nuggets were number 2 or tied for number 1 with OKC. Their record was 57-25, and the Wolves, who beat them, were 3rd with a 56-26 record. So, it’s not surprising that they lost since the Wolves are a strong team.

I don’t know, but I think Westbrook could be the x-factor next season, whether it’s in winning another championship or at least making it to the NBA Finals again. If that happens, Coach Malone should be safe.

He needs to jive his game with those young stars and role players as he signed 2-year deal expecting him to bring something if he will be coming from the bench or maybe he might be include with the core playing alongside with Jokic,Jamal,Porter Jr and Gordon let see if how coach Malone will use him, with Jokic he's offensive mentality might work just rotate and find his space surely Jokic will pass the ball to him.


Hoping to see him again with that good shooting strokes, with healthy Porter Jr, that additional threats outside will give them more options as Jokic and Jamal always got that advantage with their offense taking double will lead an open spot either with Porter and Gordon which mostly how they execute thier offensive attacks.

We will see then what Westbrook can bring in the table, he signed a 2 year contract so maybe in the beginning we might not see the impact, but for sure he would be a great mentor to the younger guys as you have said. KCP is no longer with the team though, he is moving to Orlando Magic, so that is one piece of their back court that is gone. I do agree with Michael Porter Jr, I think he is still a work in progress, if not for his back injuries that have been nagging him, and that cost his game to be inconsistent, he could be the 3rd guy for them. Perhaps after winning, it's really hard to maintain that focus and defend it. We have seen going to that phases as they don't have the competitiveness inside of them.

No, it's about him and the Denver front office not seeing eye to eye, and the probably the GM is just looking for one reason to fire him and so everything is on the line this season for coach Malone.

Every coach job is on the line even if they bring them championship.

Frank Vogel won a NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020. In 2022, he was no longer the coach and was fired.
Mike Budenholzer won a ring with the Bucks in 2021, but in 2023 he was out of the job.

So management doesn't value coaches in my opinion, it's what they can bring, and if they can't win a ring then they will be fired including Malone here. Steve Kerr is different, he built a dynasty with the Dubs, winning 4 championships.

The current Lakers roster doesn't look like it can be competitive in the upcoming season. However, I don't rule out that they can make the playoffs through the play-in tournament if Lebron and AD are healthy most of the season, although making it deep into the playoffs will still be a problem for them.

Coach Malone won't get fired since he's the only coach to bring a championship to the team. Struggles are normal, and last season they made it to the Western Conference semifinals before losing to the Timberwolves. If the management fires him just because the team lost in the playoffs, it would show they don’t value the coach much. Look at Steve Kerr. He's had seasons where the team struggled, and there was even a time they missed the playoffs after losing in the play-in tournament. But he stayed because the team values his contribution to their success.