Jokic: Leadership changes may have awoken the beast
The Denver Nuggets took the floor Wednesday for the first time since the franchise made the shocking decision to fire head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.
Denver responded to the changes with a convincing 124-116 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Four starters scored 20-plus points and superstar Nikola Jokic had a triple-double.
"(Team president) Josh (Kroenke) got the response that he wanted," Jokic said postgame. "People say that we are vulnerable, but I think the beast is always the strongest or the most dangerous when they're vulnerable. So maybe he woke up the beast."
Kroenke took it upon himself to inform Jokic of the decision prior to anyone else.
"I knew a little bit before everybody," Jokic said, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "And he told me, 'We made a decision.' So it was not a discussion. It was a decision. He told me why. And so I listened. And I accepted it."
The Nuggets' vibes were poor prior to the shakeup, and the locker room wasn't responding, particularly on defense, sources told Youngmisuk. There was also a reported "cold war" between Malone and Booth about playing and developing younger players in the rotation.
"I mean, when someone wants to make (a personnel change) or change energy, that's probably what they do," Jokic said. "In my country, if someone gets fired, (the) word is probably you are the next (one to go). ... I mean if you want to change something, that's how (they) do it, and the owner wanted to do it."
Wednesday's victory snapped a four-game losing streak and moved the Nuggets to 48-32 on the campaign. The team is still likely to reach the postseason as it currently sits fourth in the West.
Ownership made the moves in hopes of making the most of this season for Jokic and give the three-time MVP a chance to go on a deep postseason run, sources told Youngmisuk.
"I mean, probably we will figure it out," Jokic said. "I mean, we always figure it out. Last 10 years, we figured it out."