Nuggets coach Michael Malone: "I'm going to write a book one day: Viral meningitis got me fired."

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Back in 2014, head coach Michael Malone and the Sacramento Kings rode the coattails of DeMarcus Cousins to a surprising 9-6 record to start the year. Things were looking up in Sacramento for the first time since Vlade Divac and Chris Weber were patrolling the hardwood at ARCO Arena or maybe since the Kings draft Cousins fifth overall in 2010.

But then, distaster. Cousins came down with viral meningitis, the Kings limped to a 2-7 record over their next nine games and Malone was let go just 24 games into his tenure. It’s a move that was and still is universally critsized around the league and looked at as one of the most unjust firings of a head coach in recent memory.

Since then, both sides have moved on. Kings owner Vivek Ranadive went through Tyrone Corbin and George Karl before hiring Dave Jorger this summer, and Malone, of course, is in his second season coaching the Nuggets.

Malone and general manager Tim Connelly appeared on The Vertical Podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski a couple times this summer, but were on an interesting podcast about the relationship between a head coach and general manager, and how that dynamic works throughout an NBA franchise that was released today.

Malone reminisced about his time in Sacramento, as he often does on podcasts and during interviews, and spoke on how his relationship with Connelly in Denver compares to the one he had with Ranadive in Sacramento.

“I’m going to write a book one day: Viral meningitis got me fired,” Malone said to Wojnarowski. The two Denver executives also spoke on a number of interesting subjects pertaining to the Nuggets and the league as a whole.

You should listen to the podcast in it’s entirety below.

How the GM/Coach dynamic works in the NBA. My new @TheVertical Pod with Denver's Tim Connelly and Michael Malone. https://t.co/hVTkRkquHy

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 7, 2016