If you want to understand the modern NBA, you have to look at the Sacramento Kings in late 2014. It was a mess. Pure chaos. Michael Malone—who everyone calls Mike, though he reportedly prefers Michael—was the guy steering the ship. Then, suddenly, he wasn't.
One day he’s the guy who finally got through to DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins. The next, he’s clearing out his desk.
The question "why was mike malone fired" still haunts Kings fans. It’s the ultimate "what if" for a franchise that spent nearly two decades in the basement. At the time, Sacramento had actually started the season looking... good? They were 9-5. For the Kings, that was like winning the Super Bowl. Then Boogie got sick, the wheels fell off for a few weeks, and ownership pulled the trigger.
But it wasn't just about a losing streak while the star player had viral meningitis. That’s the surface level. The real story involves a weird power struggle, a clash over "positionless" basketball, and an owner who once famously suggested the team should play 4-on-5 defense.
The Meningitis Mirage
Honestly, the timing of the firing was bizarre. Sacramento was 11-13 when the axe fell on December 15, 2014.
The Kings had lost seven of their last nine games. Sounds bad, right? Well, yeah, except for the fact that DeMarcus Cousins was in a hospital bed with viral meningitis for most of those. Before Boogie went down, the team was a legitimate problem for the rest of the Western Conference. They were physical. They actually played defense. Malone had them grinding out wins through a slow-paced, gritty style that emphasized the post.
📖 Related: The Truth About the Memphis Grizzlies Record 2025: Why the Standings Don't Tell the Whole Story
Management didn't care about the context. They saw the 2-7 stretch without Cousins and used it as the "performance-based" excuse they needed.
When a Coach is Hired Before the GM
This is where the business side gets messy. Vivek Ranadivé, who had recently bought the team, hired Malone in June 2013. The problem? He hadn't hired a General Manager yet.
Think about that. It’s like buying a car engine before you’ve even picked out the frame.
A few weeks later, Pete D’Alessandro was brought in as the GM. Right from the jump, you had a coach who wasn't "the GM's guy." In the NBA, that’s usually a death sentence. D’Alessandro wanted a high-octane, "jazz music" style of offense—fast-paced, lots of passing, very Golden State-esque. Malone wanted to pound the ball inside to the best center in the league.
Vivek later admitted the two "hated each other's guts." They didn't talk. They clashed over everything, including a potential trade for Josh Smith that Malone reportedly hated. When you have a coach and a GM who aren't on speaking terms, the first losing streak is always going to be the end of the road.
👉 See also: The Division 2 National Championship Game: How Ferris State Just Redrew the Record Books
The Philosophical Divide
There’s this persistent rumor—that’s basically been confirmed by everyone involved—that the Kings’ leadership wanted to play a style Malone just didn't believe in.
- Pace: Management wanted to lead the league in possessions. Malone wanted to win games by stopping people.
- The Cherry Picker: Vivek allegedly suggested the team should leave one player on the offensive end at all times (playing 4-on-5 defense) to get easy buckets. Malone, a defensive specialist, likely found this idea insulting.
- Analytics vs. Gut: The front office was leaning heavily into advanced metrics that suggested a faster pace would yield more efficiency. Malone looked at his roster and saw a 270-pound wrecking ball in Cousins and decided the "math" didn't fit the personnel.
The DeMarcus Cousins Factor
You can't talk about Michael Malone without talking about Boogie. Before Malone arrived, Cousins was widely considered "uncoachable." He was talented but volatile.
Malone changed that. He didn't treat Cousins like a project; he treated him like a partner. They had a genuine bond. When the firing happened, Cousins was reportedly devastated. He later said, "It's clear. We're not the same team."
The Kings replaced Malone with Ty Corbin, then eventually George Karl. The relationship between Karl and Cousins was a disaster from day one. By firing Malone, the Kings didn't just lose a coach; they lost the only person who had successfully anchored their franchise player.
The Denver Vindication
If you want proof that Sacramento messed up, just look at what happened next. Malone went to the Denver Nuggets in 2015. He didn't change who he was. He still focused on culture, he still coached his big man (Nikola Jokić) as the hub of the offense, and he still demanded defensive accountability.
✨ Don't miss: Por qué los partidos de Primera B de Chile son más entretenidos que la división de honor
In 2023, Michael Malone held the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Meanwhile, the Kings went through a carousel of coaches—George Karl, Dave Joerger, Luke Walton, Alvin Gentry—before finally finding stability with Mike Brown years later. Even Brown was eventually let go in a move that Malone recently called "no class," citing the fact that Brown was fired via a phone call while on his way to the airport.
Why the Firing Still Matters
The Malone era in Sacramento is a case study in why "organizational alignment" is more than just a corporate buzzword.
- Trust your star's input: If your franchise player loves the coach, you think twice before firing him during an injury crisis.
- Hierarchy is vital: Hiring a coach before a GM creates a power vacuum that inevitably leads to friction.
- Don't overreact to small samples: Firing a coach because the team lost games while their best player was in the hospital is objectively poor management.
Basically, Michael Malone was fired because he was a "defense-first" guy working for an "offense-first" owner, and he didn't have a GM in his corner to protect him. It wasn't about the wins and losses; it was about the ego and the vision in the front office.
If you're looking to apply this to your own life or business, the takeaway is pretty simple: results don't matter as much as relationships. You can be doing a great job, but if the person signing your checks has a different "vibe" or vision for how that job should be done, you're always on thin ice.
Next Steps for Kings and Nuggets Fans:
- Check the stats: Look at the Kings' defensive rating under Malone versus the three years following his departure; the drop-off is staggering.
- Watch the tape: Find clips of the 2014 Kings "9-5" start. They played a brand of physical basketball that the franchise wouldn't see again for nearly a decade.
- Follow the leadership: Keep an eye on how Malone manages player relationships in Denver; it’s the same blueprint he tried to build in Sacramento, just with a front office that actually let him build it.