Josh Kroenke gives himself new interim title with the Denver Nuggets
Apr 10, 2025, 9:04 AM
Josh Kroenke stunned the NBA on Tuesday when he decided to fire head coach Michael Malone and not renew general manager Calvin Booth’s contract with just three games left in the regular season. The move was the latest coaching change made by a team in playoff contention in NBA history and sent a message to the organization that he was don’t with the lousy product being put out on the floor.
Kroenke quickly elevated David Adelman to be the team’s interim head coach for the rest of the season, but had not made a decision on how to replace Booth until the team can conduct a thorough search for a new general manager in the offseason. On Thursday morning, Kroenke took matters into his own hands.
Sources: Denver Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke will serve as interim president of basketball operations with assistance from front office personnel in Ben Tenzer and Tommy Balcetis. A thorough GM search is expected in the offseason. https://t.co/mqO3NTdroq
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) April 10, 2025
While the players on the court are focused on making a run in the postseason, members in the organization off the court have to start thinking about who to select in the 2025 NBA Draft, possible free agents to sign, and most importantly, who the next head coach and general manager of the team will be. Kroenke decided that it was best for him to put those decisions in his hands and become much more hands-on with the team through this stretch.
This move gives him control over all moves regarding basketball aspect of the franchise. These next few months, even if Denver doesn’t win a championship, will arguably be the most important in franchise history, as a swing and a miss on whatever moves are made would waste more years of one of the greatest primes in the history of the NBA. It can be argued that two years have been wasted already in this year and last year, and any more years down the drain would be frustrating for Jokic himself, the fans and the organization.
Kroenke will be receiving assistance in the role from Ben Tenzer and Tommy Balcetis. Tenzer has been with the Nuggets organization since 2012, starting as a legal analyst before spending 10 years as the director of basketball operations. The past two years, he has been operating as the vice president of basketball operations. Balcetis, the assistant general manager, has been with the Nuggets since 2013. Both these guys have been instrumental pieces to the organization during their times in Denver, and helped construct the team that won the 2023 NBA Championship.
The new title is just an interim one for Kroenke, and will most likely be gone in the offseason when he makes new hires in the organization. For now, it’s clear that he’s tired of the entire organization not performing at a championship standard, and the only way to fix that was to take matters into his own hands.
