Nearly a year after the Denver Nuggets dismissed him and head coach Michael Malone on the same day, Calvin Booth is still processing how a championship partnership unraveled.
“It’s approaching a year,” Booth said on The Kevin O’Connor Show, via Yahoo Sports. “I think we both would admit a lot of stuff is overblown.”
The franchise made the abrupt decision on April 8, 2025, during a four-game losing streak and amid defensive slippage. Ownership cited the need to give the team the “best chance” to compete for a championship immediately.
Booth, who became general manager in 2020, helped construct the 2023 title roster around Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. In his first offseason leading basketball operations, he traded Will Barton and Monte Morris for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, signed Bruce Brown, drafted Christian Braun at No. 21 and moved up to select Peyton Watson at No. 30.
“We won a championship. There was definitely alignment,” Booth said.
The split with Malone centered on roster philosophy. The coach preferred proven veterans, while the executive prioritized internal development and draft capital to offset luxury-tax constraints.
“When you say a winner or loser, that’s a reference to a game,” Booth said of how the organization framed the situation. “It’s not a game to me. It’s my life.”
Booth outlined four factors he believes led to his exit, starting with what he called the “Nikola Jokic effect.” With the league’s most efficient center averaging 28.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 10.5 assists this season, sustained success can mask structural tension.
He also pointed to ownership dynamics and the natural friction between a championship coach and a first-time GM. “Whether it’s Mark Warkentien or Tim [Connelly] or Masai [Ujiri], there’s always gonna come a point where they don’t value executives like that,” Booth said.
The architect defended his youth movement, noting that Braun and Watson have expanded roles in 2025-26. Watson is averaging 14.9 points on 49.6% shooting, while Braun posts 10.2 points in 30.5 minutes per game.
“The reality of the thing is if we sign Bruce Brown back, we sign KCP back, or if they leave and we sign veterans … do Christian Braun and Peyton Watson do what they’re doing right now?” Booth said. “Definitely not.”
He rejected the idea that drafting older prospects capped their ceilings. “When Jimmy Butler goes 30th, does anybody know he’s going to be Jimmy Butler? Or Fred VanVleet’s undrafted, does anybody know he’s gonna be Fred VanVleet?” Booth said.
Tension with Malone never turned public, according to Booth. “Never a physical altercation in front of people. Never a verbal altercation in front of people,” he said. “So where’s the beef?”
The Nuggets sit 36-21, third in the Western Conference, with a retooled roster that includes Cam Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas and a returning Bruce Brown. Booth sees the blueprint as familiar.
“There’s only so many trades that can be done. It’s kind of like paint-by-numbers,” he said.
For now, the former executive is consulting with college programs and waiting for another opportunity. “My door wasn’t knocking down with people waiting to hire me,” Booth said. “If you look tangibly at what I did — my win percentage, what I drafted, working with a coach like Coach Malone as a first-time GM — I just don’t know how my door isn’t knocking.”
