but Malone has long been more inclined to trust his veterans. Specifically, Russell Westbrook, who has been getting the minutes Booth would have preferred go to Pickett and has had a rough go of late.

Russell Westbrook has emerged as one of the central reasons behind the firing of Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone as the NBA world continues to reel from the surprising news. According to ...

The Denver Nuggets on Tuesday made the stunning decision to fire Michael Malone with three games remaining in the regular season, and it sounds like the coach’s loyalty to Russell Westbrook may ...

Players on the Nuggets began to lose faith in Michael Malone after he gave Russell Westbrook special treatment, per @TheAthletic “…All the while, Malone’s choice to continue supporting ...

Malone's choice to continue supporting Russell Westbrook didn't sit well in the Denver locker room. "All the while, Malone’s choice to continue supporting Westbrook, despite the frustration ...

Jalen Pickett is a good example of this, according to league sources. Booth was dismayed that Malone went with Russell Westbrook over Pickett down the stretch of multiple games last week.” ...

The Athletic report also detailed some internal frustration with Russell Westbrook, specifically as it related to Malone's treatment of the veteran point guard. "All the while, Malone's choice to ...

Booth was dismayed that Malone went with Russell Westbrook over Pickett down the stretch of multiple games last week. On a macro level, Booth and Malone disagreed on several things. -via New York ...

After the firings, one of the first things that came out was that Booth and Malone had disagreed with the coach's insistence on sticking with Russell Westbrook. It turns out that Booth wasn't the ...

“Jalen Pickett is a good example of this, according to league sources. Booth was dismayed that Malone went with Russell Westbrook over Pickett down the stretch of multiple games last wee ...

The Athletic is reporting that Booth and Malone disagreed on several things, and future Hall of Famer Russell Westbrook's crunch time role was one of the things the two men couldn't agree on.