Former Kings Coach Malone Speaks Up About Firing, Cousins
Former Sacramento Kings head coach and current Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone spoke out to Grantland about the drama in Sacramento last year:
"When I got the job, it was a four-year plan: By the time we moved into the arena, we were gonna be a playoff team. I thought that was a great vision. I shared in that vision. Getting fired caught me off-guard. Being around the NBA my whole life, you understand security is not one of the pros of being a coach.
But we had a team that bought in. That believed in me. And you saw, once I got fired, that team went into a tailspin. I felt awful for Ty Corbin. It was a lose-lose for him. But it just got out of control, and it validated the job that my staff and I did."
In the interview, they also touched on the relationship Malone had with Kings All-Star DeMarcus Cousins:
"I have to be who I am. When people ask DeMarcus about me, I think the things he respected about me was that I was always honest. If you're dishonest, you're done. You're out. I never tried to B.S. him. I was real. If he messed up, I got on him. If he did good things, I praised him. I believed in him.
That relationship was constant work. Constant. But we came to a deep respect."
He was even asked about playing four on five:
"[Laughs.] It came up. I was approached. I'm a defensive guy, and I know you can't defend well if you only have four guys out there."
Click here for the full Michael Malone interview with Grantland.
