Michael Malone's second head coaching job in the NBA is with the Denver Nuggets, which has presented a more harmonious working environment than he found with the Sacramento Kings.
“Myself, Josh Kroenke our owner, Tim Connelly [the GM], we’re lockstep in everything we’re doing and we understand the process and what we’re trying to go through," said Malone. "There are growing pains when you’re young but this coming summer, if we’re able to nab a quality free agent, it would be a little bit less gray in my beard.”
Malone was hired by the Kings before they found their eventual general manager Pete D'Alessandro.
NBA players have resisted going to Denver but the Nuggets' players have tended to like it once they arrive.
“I think once you get guys to Denver, a lot of people fall in love with it,” Malone said. “We’ve have veterans on our team, Darrell Arthur, Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, they don’t want to leave. Darrell Arthur told his agent, ‘Listen, get it done with Denver, I don’t want to go anywhere else.’ I think that speaks more than anything I can say, the fact that once you’re there and the quality of life and how beautiful it is, I think Denver sells itself.”