The Western Conference Finals are in full swing! Two teams that are eyeing their maiden NBA Championship are going head-to-head, as the Oklahoma City Thunder takes on the Minnesota Timberwolves. With only four teams remaining in the postseason, the rest of them are watching games from the comfort of their homes. One team watching from home is the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokic and Co. were sent packing by the Thunder after they suffered a blowout loss in Game 7. However, they now face several questions. 

The most important of them is, who will be their next head coach? This comes after they decided to fire long-time head coach Michael Malone very late into the season. While the Nuggets continue their hunt, it seems the untimely firing has left some bitterness between Malone and the franchise. After Tuesday’s Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the former Nuggets boss had some surprising comments about the MVP race.

“(Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) showed why he’s the MVP,” Malone said after SGA dropped a 38-point performance in Game 1. 

This statement from Nikola Jokic’s former head coach has sent the hoops world into a frenzy. That’s because Michael Malone and Nikola Jokic have won a championship together and share a great bond. However, it seems that the bond has been severed by him being forced out of Denver. Many people had their opinions, but a former Denver player has sent a stern warning to Malone.

“You burn a bridge with one of the greatest players of all time.” Said former Nuggets guard Austin Rivers.

“That’s why he was such an MVP. Don’t do that. You’ve already built a relationship with Nikola. If you guys had a little falling out, cool. It could probably be repaired down the line because you guys didn’t win together at the end of the day. So you can hang your hat on that. These little comments like that don’t help.” he added while speaking on Off Guard with Austin Rivers.

The host stated that Malone should not have fallen for the media trap. Moreover, he suggested that even if the reason for his exit from the Mile High City was falling out with the Joker, he should’ve stayed away from this question. Well, it seems that Rivers’ warning has been heard as a new update emerges.

Michael Malone clears the air after his controversial MVP comments

The last couple of months have been a rollercoaster ride for Michael Malone and the Denver faithful. It all tipped off when the long-time Denver Nuggets head coach was let go just before the playoffs. This decision stunned a lot of people, including fans and experts alike. While it initially seemed Malone wasn’t on the best of terms with Nikola Jokic anymore, the new ESPN analyst cleared the air after facing backlash over his recent comments. 

“When Nikola won his first of his three MVPs, and I did vote for him again this year, if I had a vote, I wanna make sure the people in Denver know that. Because right now, I’m getting a lot of heat back home,” Malone said recently.

He cleared the air after people thought that he had turned his back on his former franchise player. The long-time Denver head coach pointed out that he voted for the Joker yet again and wanted the people to know that complimenting Shai-Gilgeous Alexander did not mean he thinks less of his former superstar.

Malone’s remark came just after the Thunder point guard received the MVP trophy from the league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, in a pregame ceremony in front of a jam-packed Paycom Center crowd. While the Thunder superstar has had a phenomenal season, many people believe that Nikola Jokic deserved to win this season’s MVP award.

That’s a debate that isn’t going to rest anytime soon. Nonetheless, it’s great to hear that the former Denver head coach still seems to have a good relationship with the Joker.