Denver Nuggets president Josh Kroenke thought of firing head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth earlier this season, sources told ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelburne.

Kroenke pondered parting ways with the duo multiple times and wanted to clean house at the All-Star break, MacMahon and Shelburne report.

Malone and Booth reportedly had their jobs saved due to the Nuggets being in the midst of an eight-game winning streak.

"There were certain trends that were very worrisome to me at certain points in time, but they would get masked by a few wins here and there," Kroenke said Tuesday, the day he pulled the trigger. "In the world of professional sports, where winning and losing is your currency, winning can mask a lot of things."

Kroenke made the decision to fire both Malone and Booth on Sunday, per MacMahon and Shelburne. Denver lost to the Indiana Pacers the same day, its fourth straight defeat.

The Nuggets' vibes were reportedly poor prior to the firings, and the locker room wasn't responding, particularly on defense. There was also a reported "cold war" between Malone and Booth about playing and developing younger players in the rotation.

Denver responded to the shakeup with a 124-116 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Nikola Jokic said following the win that Kroenke "woke up the beast" with the move.

The Nuggets sit 48-32 on the season and are fourth in the West with two games remaining.