There’s this classic Saturday Night Live sketch starring the late, great and brilliant Phil Hartman where he plays two sides of Ronald Reagan. As Reagan aged, there came a time late in his presidency when most Americans believed he was no longer lucid, shaking as he did photo ops, smiling and holding babies, while those in his cabinet made the hard decisions.
This hilarious SNL bit played on those rumors where Hartman, portraying Reagan, would play nice until the photo-seekers left the room. As soon as they did, it was “BACK TO WORK!” A commandeering Reagan, portrayed so memorably by Hartman, would then bark out orders to his cronies believed to be getting the credit. But all along, it was Reagan calling the shots.
I wonder how much of that character there is within Nikola Jokic, the smiling, soft-spoken Serb who just signed off on the firing of his head coach.
This week, three games away from the playoffs and 16 games over .500, the Denver Nuggets sent their head coach packing. Mike Malone, who coached the Nuggets to an NBA title only two years ago, was summarily relieved of his duties. Although there’d been rumors of internal discord, the news came as a shock to all those not paying attention, with most of us wondering how much Jokic had to do with it.
NBA teams generally don’t fire their head coaches with the playoffs in sight although a week ago, the Memphis Grizzlies did just that, firing Taylor Jenkins. The move was a massive surprise as the Grizzlies, like the Nuggets, were also playoff-bound. Not to be outdone, the Denver Nuggets said, “Hold my beer!” and fired Mike Malone.
Those in the know heard there were rumblings within the Denver organization, with Malone griping about a lack of roster depth, and Calvin Booth, the general manager responsible for that roster, also thrown under the bus. Both men were shown the door.
In the NBA, owners call the shots, often with the blessing of their superstars. Enter the generally nice and non-confrontational Nikola Jokic, doing his best Hartman-Reagan. Sometimes difficult decisions need to be made. The one made in Denver came with Jokic’s blessing.
Nuggets brass felt, and rightfully so, that they could no longer waste time with the game’s best player on their roster. Jokic is once again having a legendary season. While he’ll likely finish second in the MVP race to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic’s numbers prove he’s one of the best players the NBA has ever seen. He is averaging a triple double while scoring 30 points a game and shooting 57% from the floor.
But one of the most impressive stats I’ve ever heard involves Jokic’s effect on his teammates. Every single player on the Denver Nuggets has a better +/- when Jokic is on the floor as opposed to when he’s not. That means that every single player on the team is better when Jokic is playing which, one could argue, is the very essence of being most valuable.
The Nuggets have made no roster adjustments since their championship run. While other NBA teams are actively getting better, or at least seeking to, the Nuggets have trotted out the same team which, by most accounts, looks older. Aaron Gordon’s scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage have all dropped. Michael Porter, Jr.’s three-point accuracy has declined, which is pretty much the only reason he’s on the court, and Jamal Murray can’t seem to stay healthy. A team that should be competing for a title in the wide open and competitive west appears not much of a threat, or at least so ownership thought.
Hence the dismissal of the winningest coach in their history. Jokic’s approval of the decision was as businesslike as his game.
I can see it now, Jokic riding horseback in his rural Denver abode, playing nice for all to see a la Hartman-Reagan, picking up the phone and demanding Malone’s firing.
Scene.
Phone rings. Casually dressed in flannel shirt, cowboy hat and chaps, Jokic answers it.
“Nikola, it’s your boss, Josh Kroenke.”
Jokic replies in thick Serbian accent. “I know who eet eez. I have caller ID.” Not that he’d need it; Jokic has eyes in the back of his head.
“Of course you do,” Kroenke replies, confident yet careful not to upset the only asset he has left. “We’re thinking about firing Michael Malone. How do you feel about this?”
Assassin-like, Jokic simply replies, “Do it!” and hangs up the phone.
Of course, this reenactment is probably far from the truth, or perhaps spot on, most likely somewhere in between, but the point is Malone is gone and just as we all thought, owners of franchises don’t make major decisions without consulting their superstars.
Jokic has built enough good karma in this league so that he won’t go down as the bad guy. Dwight Howard once got his head coach fired. We still haven’t forgiven him for that or how it all happened, but Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan also got coaches fired and they received a pass. It all depends on the player, the scheme, the dysfunction and the method of dismissal. In the NBA, it’s a superstar’s rite of passage.
I’m not sure how much bad blood will exist between Jokic and Malone moving forward but per ownership a decision had to be made, and it was. Both Booth and Malone are gone, and the Nuggets will now do everything in their power to keep Jokic happy before he demands to be traded.
In any walk of life, from top tier NBA talent to your local mom and pop, if you are not doing your job, you will lose it, plain and simple. We also know that NBA coaches, no matter their record, can get fired on a whim. In this era of player empowerment, one must toe the line; sometimes winning games just isn’t enough. While being an NBA head coach would be a fun job to have, their job security is as tenuous as playing the stock market.
Walking the tightrope between keeping ownership happy, massaging players’ egos and winning basketball games with the roster you’re given is a delicate balancing act. Only three NBA coaches have been with their respective organizations for five years or longer. Those men have all won multiple titles with their organization. Not a single other coach in the league can currently say that.
The Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies now enter the playoffs with brand new head coaches. While they now sit and watch at home updating their resumes, one can’t help but wonder whether Mike Malone and Taylor Jenkins are secretly hoping for their former team’s success or bitterly hoping for their failure.
