Nikola Jokic denies being part of discussion on Michael Malone's exit from Denver Nuggets: "It definitely changed something"

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has revealed that he wasn’t a part of a discussion when the Kroenke Sports and Entertainment vice chairman, team president and governor Josh Kroenke decided to fire the head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth. He has however, said that he was informed about the same slightly before others came to know about it. Interestingly, the struggling team on a losing streak went on to clinch a victory just a day after Malone’s exit.

Nikola Jokic spoke to the media after Denver Nuggets registered a much-needed 124-116 win over Sacramento Kings, just a day after Michael Malone was fired as the head coach. "I knew a little bit before everybody. And he told me, 'We made a decision.' So it was not a discussion. It was a decision. He told me why. And so I listened. And I accepted it. I'm not going to tell you what he told me. I'm going to keep that private," Jokic said as reported by Denverpost.com.
Further sharing his feelings on the same, he added, "It was a 10-year relationship. So it was just, it was a heavy day for everybody. Especially for him and his family."

Though he must be coming to terms with Malone’s absence, Jokic still managed to get 20 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists. He said that the sudden news of Malone firing acted like “waking up the beast”. As if connecting the sudden development with the team’s win, he said, “I mean, when someone wants to wake somebody up or change the energy, that’s probably what they do. In my country, if somebody gets fired … probably you’re the next (to go). So I think it definitely changed something, and they got the reaction that they wanted, probably.”
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Denver Nuggets are currently at the fourth place in the Western Conference as the season nears a close. Just two days before, Malone had expressed serious concern over the team’s four consecutive losses. “We haven’t lost 4-in-a-row in a long time…looking forward to see how we respond,” he had said while talking to the media.