"I'll run through a wall for Mike Malone" - Aaron Gordon on the impact of coach Malone on his career
When Aaron Gordon was traded to the Denver Nuggets, he not only gained a head coach in Mike Malone but also a mentor. In his recent appearance on the “Knuckleheads podcast” the forward talked about the impact coach Malone has had on his career and what makes him such an incredible voice in the locker room.
“He is a straight shooter. He’s going to call a spade a spade, he’s not going to bullsh*t you. He’s going to tell you exactly what he is. He’s just so damn competitive, and I love that in a coach,” Gordon said.
Malone let Gordon be Gordon
What allowed Mike to earn AG's trust was that he encouraged the latter to just be himself when he got on the Nuggets. Malone knew that Aaron made the sacrifice to commit to being a role player which was why the head coach insisted that he still gets his touches offensively.
That’s why it didn’t take long for Gordon to thrive on his new team, ultimately helping them to their first-ever franchise championship.
“He’s a little bit of a player's coach. He let me rock out. When I first got here, he said, ‘AG, just be you; that’s enough for us.’ And I said cool, he let me rock out. He let me get my post isos, wings isos, he let me do some sh*t here and there, try some sh*t, and he doesn't really trip because on the defensive end he knows I’m working, I’m doing a lot, I’m doing the intangibles,” Gordon said.
Mike knows how to handle his players
Aside from the X's and O's, Malone is an incredible coach because he can handle the locker room well. The veteran Nuggets head tactician makes sure to communicate with his players constantly, and the same was the case with Gordon, who was frustrated with Malone early this season after a slow start to the campaign
“He called me into his office, we had a good conversation heart to heart. We talked about his late pops; he always wants to make sure he always takes care of the person before the player. We got down to what it really was that was going on between us and it was cool man, I got his back, I’ll run through a wall for Mike Malone,” Gordon stated.
Aaron's statements about Malone show why the head coach’s leadership matters on a team that just won the NBA championship. It’s rare to find a coach who not only excels in X's and O’s and in-game and game-to-game adjustments but one who their players will run through a wall for.
