Warriors coach Steve Kerr reacts to Malone’s sudden firing

Phoenix – The Warriors coach Steve Kerr, did not put words before the Testays game in Phoenix when his reaction was asked for the sudden dismissal of the Nuggets of the former chief coach Mike Malone.

Malone became the second coach of a West Conference team to the playoffs, the other is the former Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins, to be fired in the last two weeks.

“Surprised, like everyone else,” Kerr said. “Mike has obviously been a great coach. Champion, fantastic record. As with Taylor, you don’t expect something like that, so late in the season.”

Malone was an assistant to the Mark Jackson Warriors staff of 2011-13.

The Nuggets hired Malone in 2015, and trained Denver for the NBA 2023 championship, the first in the history of the franchise.

Denver entered Tuesday 47-32 and sowed room, but they are linked to Malone and General Manager Calvin Booth, the team plunged into a four-game losing streak. One of those losses came to Golden State on Friday, a game where Steph Curry fell 36 points.

“Organizations have to do their own business, and we are there aware of that, so I have no idea what was happening, so I can’t comment on anything but wish well,” Kerr said. “He has done incredible job and does not seem correct, but this is the business we are in. We are all going to suffer a similar destination at some point.”

From Kerr Tok The Warriors Job in 2014, six coaches have won NBA titles. Four of them were fired, with Kerr and last year’s champion Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics are the only survivors.

Among that group is Mike Budenholzer, the current Suns coach who took the Bucks to the title in 2021 but was fire in 2023.

“Implant … This league is difficult to win a championship,” said Budenholzer before the game. “To have all the success that it is, to build the program you are building, the individual success for its players and organizational success, it is only a great coach. The test is in everything you have done.”

Why are so many successful coaches release? Kerr, whose team has 46-32 and sowed sixth in the playoff career, had a hypothesis.

“Now there is a lot of money in the business, and there are advantages and real estate for that,” Kerr said. “We are all making larger salaries than five years ago, but we are all much more vulnerable because I don’t think many owners are so worried about saying goodbye to a boy and paying him to disappear.”