Kings' Ranadive says Malone, former GM 'hated each other's guts'

The Sacramento Kings have been called many things since Vivek Ranadive assumed majority control of the team in 2013, and one of them rhymes with "blusterduck."

In a wide-ranging interview with USA Today's Sam Amick, Ranadive covered much of the franchise's instability over the past three years, including the much-maligned decision to fire head coach Michael Malone in 2014. According to the tech multimillionaire owner, the choice was made because Malone and then-general manager Pete D'Alessandro didn't get along.

"From day one, (D'Alessandro) and (Malone) didn't get along," Ranadive said. "They hated each other's guts. They didn't even want to share an assistant."

It's worth noting that today, Malone coaches the Denver Nuggets under one of his superiors - team vice president of business and team operations D'Alessandro.

Malone's firing was roundly ridiculed because it came with the Kings sitting at 11-13 on the season, in only his second year on the job. The coach's strong relationship with franchise player DeMarcus Cousins was also a first in Sacramento since the Kings drafted the center in 2010.

Ranadive's comments contradict earlier reports that pinned the decision on the owner. Malone himself has said that while D'Alessandro performed the physical dismissal, "like the JFK assassination, everybody has their own theory" on who actually made the choice to fire him.

Ranadive also revealed that former NBA star Shareef Abdur-Rahim - who worked as an assistant coach with the Kings from 2008-14 - threatened to sue the organization for creating a "hostile work environment" after D'Alessandro fired him (sources of Amick said the Kings settled by paying the final two years of Abdur-Rahim's contract).

The owner says D'Alessandro wanted to do the same with Malone, and claims he tried to be the "peacemaker."

"They tried to fire (Malone) right from the get-go, and I was peacemaker," he said. "These two guys, they never spoke. They hated each other. They hated each other's guts. It was like one person would say one thing, and then the other person would say another thing.

"And they wanted to get rid of him very early on, and I was the one who said, 'No, no, let's make it work. Let's make it work.'"

Evidently, Malone and D'Alessandro are now making it work together in Denver.