The Denver Nuggets have a pretty good history of shifting the blame off themselves.

The Denver Nuggets have a pretty good history of shifting the blame off themselves.

[Music] welcome to coffee break with Rachel vill taking a daily look at the biggest stories in Denver Sports and interacting live with you the coffee break fam so sit back relax grab a cup of Joe and enjoy your coffee break here’s your host Rachel vill well I love being able to come back from the holiday and see this headline company line being put forth by the Nuggets is worthy of scrutiny which I actually think like a lot of people would probably agree with when we’re seeing what’s happening with kcp uh with Calvin Booth being in Europe just apparently hanging out even though he seems to be working and catching a few basketball games it’s interesting right now is it feels like a lot of nuggets Nation feels like the team has gotten a lot worse than better and you would hope from your GM that that would be the case when you have the best player in the world but also there’s a lot of people saying that Nicole yic might not be happy with the Denver Nuggets and I’ve heard this storyline come from a few different people and I’m a little curious as to why so on our marot Monday of course we have James marlot who is out traveling but still making time to hang out with us James where are you at I’m in Lake havu Arizona yeah how hot uh oh my gosh it was 117 when I got here yesterday I’m making the Trek this is all related to my son’s basketball uh tournament so he played in Las Vegas this last weekend he’s in Phoenix next weekend so rather than fly back and forth I’m making the drive and this is the halfway point so hanging out here in the heat for a little while hanging out in the heat well the heat is starting to definitely uh turn up a few notches for Calvin Booth right now when it comes to nuggets Nation I’ve of course read and loved your uh article over at denverps decom it’s not an article what is a column there we go that’s what I need on this Monday morning but I’m curious because you are also on the train that like Nicole yic may not be happy with the Denver Nuggets and I’m kind of curious where where you got this idea from well look I just have a BS meter and I really have a BS meter when it comes to the Nuggets they are notorious for putting out these narratives and the the media let’s just call it out the media runs with it it just repeats it like it’s fact and nobody bothers to go timeout this doesn’t make any sense right and so I provided some examples in my in my column it goes all the way back to the Carmello Anthony thing of like oh yeah nuggets what can they do he wants to go to New York because la la wants to go there for his her career which made no sense like her career was the same after he got traded as it was before maybe worse so like that made no sense it’s not 1955 you don’t have to live in New York in order to be a celebrity um so that one didn’t make any sense the Jeremy Grant won like he was their number one priority out coming out of the bubble gotta resign Jeremy Grant he goes to the Pistons it’s like well we offered him the same amount of money he just wanted a bigger role and he’s can’t have a bigger as big role here with joic and Murray and at that point they didn’t have AG but with those two guys like who takes the same amount of money to live in Detroit and play on a terrible team like that made no sense and the kcp won they tried to tell us that they offered him the amount of money and all of a sudden kyp’s wife was like false I just think this Calvin Booth being in Europe at the start of free agency uh he misses an introductory press conference for draft picks he’s over there to see vatco like that’s the story right like yeah are are you kidding me like a guy who’s averaged three and a half points a game in his four-year career who missed the entire last year who when he got released month ago our own Jake Shapiro wrote it like this is an accounting move they they’ll bring him back it’ll be better for Vlad it’ll be better for the nuggets from a cap standpoint nothing to see here he has to fly Halfway Around the World to get that guy back like Rachel you know some some conversations are a text some the phone some you do a zoom call some you get on an airplane and you go have the conversation face to face yeah that’s because it’s serious well what could be serious what on Earth could be serious that would get him to go to Europe in the world lives in Europe true I true he is out there in Europe and we all heard the rumors that they wanted Russell Westbrook uh James I was there was hardly any service out there in Maine and New Hampshire which is where I spent the fourth July like quite literally hardly anything but I didn’t see Westbrook sign anywhere right I’m not missing anything nope nope and and look I’m not saying that’s what’s going on I’m putting out a theory that makes more sense with the facts yeah then this garbage they tell us that he went out there to sign to get vatco back like come on you’re insing my intelligence so if you’re coming up with a ruse why right if you got a cover story if you if you tell the you know your fiance you’re doing one thing and it’s made up well that’s cuz you’re going to do something else you don’t want them to know right like that’s the only reason to make a Baro it’s because you’re hiding something well what are you hiding that’s what I want to know with the Nuggets what are they hiding well and let’s be real there’s things where you’re right it can be a text or a phone call there’s other if you want to go check out to see how vco is looking you put a different guy on a plane who you’re like all right go figure it out support back to good or not it’s not the GM that needs to be the guy sitting their Courtside uh why he’s out there in Europe it’s a great question why he missed beginning a free agency is a great question but the whole kcp situation is kind of where I fall into this I do believe you and I look back to the Carmelo Anthony stuff of why does Carmelo hate the Nuggets so much right like we all get so angry and I feel like so many people get their feelings hurt because Carmelo hates the Nuggets is there like a different story that we’re not being told because if he truthfully wanted to like move away whatever I know that there probably some bashing and other stuff going on but don’t you think that it would be a little bit of a different conversation on why Carmello hates the Nuggets so much if it was he wanted to leave well yeah and I think at some point he did want to leave but his number one question and this is reported you know he’s on the record of saying it there’s nothing of him on the record saying I want to move to New York because L LA needs to chase her career yeah was that he wasn’t convinced that nuggets were gonna spend the money to keep the team together the core of the team together and add to the roster same old same old right tell me if you’ve heard this before sounds like with another star who wears number 15 and if that was the case and Melo and Melo wasn’t happy with it Melo was actually a really good soldier right like he didn’t get traded till Midway through that year he played great he helped the Nuggets put together the best possible deal they got a really good return from the Knicks for uh for him a ton of players guys that were a big part of the team the next year winning 57 games yeah he wasn’t a bad guy and they just Chuck him out of the bus and let that that narrative exist out there which I just think is unfair and it’s become like gospel around town now and people can’t stand Melo that would rub me the wrong way if I joined a 17 and 65 team the had the tied for the worst record in the league we never missed the playoffs When I Was Here we went to the Western Conference Finals once uh and I helped the team get the most in return for me because they didn’t want to build around me and they threw me under the bus yeah I’d be ticked too of course I would be me too okay so we have the kcp video over the weekend he got introduced by the magic so of course the Orlando media got a hold of him and asked him about leaving Denver we have got the video and there’s a long pause right at the beginning when he’s asked the question but then some of his word choices is really interesting so we’ll play that video and we’ll come back to discuss James roll it uh no I was I mean it took a while to think about it I would say you know to make my decision on if if I’m going to leave or not you know but uh it was no sense of of me waiting to see uh if they was going to come back with an offer or off offer me anything um but you know my my my first party is my family you know I make sure I we we good you know at any point and just being able to uh be be a part of this organization know they they wanted me just as much as I wanted to be on this squad as well so uh and that made it much easier to sign to everyone good to see if they were going to offer me anything like that word choice is very interesting and again the long pause of like okay I really need to think about what I’m gonna say In This Moment James do you take that as like they didn’t really offer him anything or they didn’t want to match the Orlando offer like how did you take that long pause and that exact word choice I took it as they didn’t mat they didn’t offer him anything at least not prior to Orlando offering him so if you got three years 66 million sitting on the table are you gonna sit and wait for Calvin boo to get back from recording vatco I mean of course not right like you’re going to jump at it you’d be foolish not to and it’s look did they do I think technically like go back to the Jeremy Grant story that they offered him the same amount of money as as Detroit probably but if it’s your third offer and you low balled him to begin with and then Detroit gets it and once you think he’s Gonna Leave You Come In be like okay okay we’ll match it you’d be like no I’m out heck with you guys you didn’t value me I have a feeling it’s a similar kind of thing here like did the Nuggets technically offer him the deal maybe but if you’re already out the door you’ve already made your made up your mind you’re taking Orlando’s deal because the Nuggets haven’t given you anything or offered you anything yeah and come in at the 11th Hour you’re like heck with it I’m out guys I already made my decision yep that’s I think some of the games that are being played here by the organization and he mentions having to make sure that him and his family are good right like there’s a lot that goes into it there’s a lot of pressure when you’re making that kind of money for this generation for the next everything so it’s like you can’t wait around but that answer did make me think that kcp did want to return it was just that he clearly wasn’t being valued enough even though he was such a key component to a Denver Nugget team winning the championship on the defensive side of things as well uh I think that this is a huge Calvin Booth Miss but it also opens up the question James of we’re putting a lot of this blame on Calvin Booth we also know the guys above Calvin Booth have been known for being rather cheap in certain areas so is this more of a crony situation or is this more of a Calvin booth in your mind I think it’s more of a crunky situation I think Calvin is just operating within the parameters given to him by his boss we all have to do that right we all have a budget and we all have to try to make the best of it and utilize the resources that were given in the most efficient way so now he could have done that differently though right like there’s still different ways to do it so he’s not absolved of all blame but it’s not as though he was given a blank check and they said do whatever you want Calvin and he chose not to do these things not to bring back kcp so but I think it does start with the cronies and and look when it comes to the owners of the my favorite teams right whether it’s the Walton Penner family ownership group or dick Montford or the cronies I don’t expect them to lose money I don’t they’re running a business and it doesn’t matter that they’re billionaires or in the case of Dick monford nearly a billionaire like you still can’t expect them to be in the red at least not every single year you spend as much money as you possibly can and I don’t know that that’s how the cronies run things I think they would like to win and I think they would like to make money and I don’t think it’s in that order I’ll put it that way do you think and this is kind of getting a less s attracted the cronies own a lot of different sports teams obviously you got the Rams you got um is it Arsenal that they own overseas right like they own a lot do you think that there’s sometimes this I don’t know mixture of different things where it can hurt them one way where they’re like oh we’re being you know we’re making a lot on this front but not on this side of things like I’m just always curious if the nuggets in the ABS do come in last when it comes to Arsenal and the Rams you got the Rapids too and the mammoth I don’t think they do listen for I work there for full disclosure I work there for for a time everything is run as its own organization right so the the ABS have to be profitable what happens with the nuggets the Rams the Arsenal has nothing to do with the Avalanche which is the right way to do it that’s how that’s how they do it um so I’ll give them for that and look they’ve had success right the Rams have won a title The Rapids won one back in 2010 the nuggets have won one the ABS have won one but if any of these organizations had sustained success or just kind of one and done and then you know you refill the coffers and then like let’s try and do it again like you know if you look at teams that spare no expense and that’s the Patriots and the Yankees and the Dodgers and teams like that like well they’re always in it they’re always a contender they’re was really good yeah year after year after year heck decade after decade um and I don’t think that’s the way the cronies run their organizations I I don’t think it’s win at all cost I think it’s we’re gonna we’re not GNA be cheap cheap but we’re going to be we’re going to be fiscally responsible and it’s just it’s hard to win year after year after year if that’s how you’re making decisions are you on the board that the nuggets have gotten worse since the last day of the Season or gotten better oh they they’ gotten worse I mean you know the and I don’t think kcp is a great loss I really don’t I think he’s a nice player but they didn’t bring in anybody that’s as good as him so worse do I think it’s significantly worse no and I was on the morning show today and Mike Evans asked me hey if they add Russell Westbrook do you think this is a team that can win a title and my answer is yeah I mean it’s essentially the same group they had last year kyp’s out Westbrook’s in Christian Brown has to step up in year three and make a bigger impact but they won 57 games last year they should have won 58 if they didn’t lose to the crappy Spurs at the end and they’d had the one seed the whole way yeah and you know a couple of different breaks a couple of different bounces a couple of different better games don’t choke in game seven who knows they might have won it this year in spite of some of the limitations so yeah they’re worse but not signific good we I I think it’s so interesting that you don’t think losing kcp and I I think your whole point is the fact said it was like 10.7 points per game or something like isn’t that the reason you think it wasn’t that big of a loss he’s the fifth he’s their fifth best starter he’s a guy that takes six seven shots a game what about defensively H this defensive thing you know what it’s like it’s like when they say oh he’s a really good special teams player or oh he’s a great blocking tight end like okay oh that’s just like a nice thing to say if he’s such a great defender why do they always have to put AG on the other team’s guy when he starts going off why does why does AG have to C cover Anthony Edwards because AG’s a monster he’s massive but jcp’s this lock down Defender I’m not saying he’s a bad Defender but it’s not like he’s getting votes for defensive player of the year I mean again it’s a narrative oh he’s a great he’s a great defender really and Josie jwes a great special teams player Oh Chris Manards blocking tight end oh I love that Josie juel is still taking shots on this Broncos team even though he’s not a part I just get so tired of these things that just get said and then I mean with kcp you can quantify some of it statistically but it’s like nerd stats that somebody does in their basement um most of these things is just thrown out there that people people can’t quantify like oh he’s a great special teams player really yeah tell me all those big Josie Jewel special teams plays again with the josy jewel slings on him poor guys hanging out in Nashville is it Nashville Charlotte wherever he is now you’re throwing Slingers at him only special teams play I remember him making was he tore his Peck because he was out of position to try and block on a punt and when he reached out to block the guy Tor his peek not that I’m glad he got hurt I’m not making fun of him getting hurt but like that’s the only thing I remember him doing on special teams what’s the worst narrative here in the mile high city when it comes to sports what’s the worst narrative well the one that drives me the most nuts is that you know Shawn pton knows what he’s doing sea pyton I mean look at the resume really he won a Super Bowl in 200 is it eight nine whatever it is yeah when I was 35 years old that’s how long ago that was I wasn’t I was an eighth grade my son just graduated from high school he was three three when Shawn Payton won a Super Bowl my other son wasn’t born my other son was three years from being born and I have three teenagers dang that is quite the age Gap so did you like recreate the Drew Brees photo then when he lifted his son if your son was close in age you should have with those silly headphones on yeah oh they’re so cute though I love when babies wear those James don’t don’t hate on those kids either all right I know you’re hating on a lot um I will say your article though your article at Denver sports.com was very well done so everybody should definitely go read it like James had a lot of what he put in today’s show he’s gotten that article too but with some more in-depth stuff as well so very nice job James and of course I the heat doesn’t uh wreck you too much out there but safe travels wherever you end up this week I appreciate it thanks a lot it’s always fun all right and to everybody hanging out with us too we appreciate you guys so much thank you for spending a little bit of time we hope you had a wonderful July 4th weekend was able to celebrate independence day here in the state and then we will be back tomorrow morning at 10: a.m. for Denver Sports Daily and right back here at 1200 p.m. for coffee break you’re watching us on YouTube subscribe like and comment down below and we will see you guys later bye everyone

The Nuggets have a pretty good history of shifting the blame off themselves. James Merilatt joins Rachel Vigil to discuss Calvin Booth’s trip to Europe, KCP leaving town, and more!