Michael Malone refuses to wear purple years after Kings firing

Longtime coach Michael Malone just isn't letting this one go.

Eighteen months after a rude and confusing dismissal from the Sacramento Kings, Malone revealed on The Lowe Post Podcast that he still refuses to wear Kings colors.

It's practically a rule inside the Malone household: no purple allowed.

"I have not (worn purple)," Malone said. "And what I really love about that is that it's my wife's favorite color, and she hasn't (worn purple). My daughters haven't. It's almost become taboo, forbidden in our household."

So what did Malone do with all the purple in his closet?

"It's funny though. I have a lot of purple ties, because you try to work in your home colors. I think I donated them to the national suit drive last year."

Like most coaches that have rolled through Sacramento over the past decade, Malone didn't even survive two seasons. But unlike his predecessors or his successors, Malone actually won the trust of DeMarcus Cousins and had the team on a path to success before his bizarre and abrupt dismissal.

Since his firing, the prideful Malone hasn't been afraid to take shots at Kings management. He threw some shade at majority team owner Vivek Ranadive and confirmed reports that the Kings approached him with the idea of playing 4-on-5 basketball.

Malone, a lifer in the coaching ranks, was hardly alone in his defense. Even LeBron James piped up for his former assistant coach, saying the Kings "didn't know what they were doing" when they let Malone go.