During Denver Nuggets governor and team president Josh Kroenke's press conference on Monday, a reporter prefaced a question by describing last week's firing of Michael Malone as "one of the latest" such decisions that a playoff-bound team has ever made.

Firing the head coach and general manager with just three games left in the regular season might seem like an impulsive move but Denver Nuggets coach Josh Kroenke said Tuesday the split was months in the making.

Despite being the winningest coach in franchise history and guiding the team to the 2023 championship, Michael Malone was fired by the Denver Nuggets. It was a stunning move considering the Nuggets had only three games left in the regular season when Malone and general manager Calvin Booth were fired.