Will Barton hopes to stay with the Denver Nuggets as he continues to be linked to trade rumors.

“It’s tough but you hear a lot of stuff going around,” Barton told The Denver Post. “I don’t pay any attention to it, I try not to let it enter my mind and enter things that I’ve got going on. I’m here, I like it here. I just try to work hard every day, perform, and just get wins for my teammates. That’s all I care about, just focusing on the Denver Nuggets.”

Barton is in the second season of a three-year, $11 million contract and has no interest in leaving.

“They know I want to be here. It’s no secret,” he said. “I want to be a part of this core that gets it right. I feel like we’re making huge strides. We’re right there, kind of fighting for that eighth seed. I feel like we’ve just gotten our team completely healthy, and I want to be part of that and they know that.”

Barton is averaging 14.3 points and 4.7 rebounds. 

George Karl wrote critically of J.R. Smith in his new book while also referencing his "posse."

Karl coached Smith for several seasons with the Denver Nuggets.

Karl wrote Smith had "a huge sense of entitlement, a distracting posse, his eye always on the next contract and some really unbelievable shot selection."

Phil Jackson's use of the word posse in reference to LeBron James elicited strong rebukes from both James and his business partners.

The Denver Nuggets have assigned rookie guard Malik Beasley to the Sioux Falls SkyForce of the NBA Development League.

Beasley, selected by the Nuggets with the 19th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, has appeared in nine games this season, averaging 2.9 points in 6.0 minutes per game.

Michael Malone's second head coaching job in the NBA is with the Denver Nuggets, which has presented a more harmonious working environment than he found with the Sacramento Kings.

“Myself, Josh Kroenke our owner, Tim Connelly [the GM], we’re lockstep in everything we’re doing and we understand the process and what we’re trying to go through," said Malone. "There are growing pains when you’re young but this coming summer, if we’re able to nab a quality free agent, it would be a little bit less gray in my beard.”

Malone was hired by the Kings before they found their eventual general manager Pete D'Alessandro.

NBA players have resisted going to Denver but the Nuggets' players have tended to like it once they arrive.

“I think once you get guys to Denver, a lot of people fall in love with it,” Malone said. “We’ve have veterans on our team, Darrell Arthur, Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, they don’t want to leave. Darrell Arthur told his agent, ‘Listen, get it done with Denver, I don’t want to go anywhere else.’ I think that speaks more than anything I can say, the fact that once you’re there and the quality of life and how beautiful it is, I think Denver sells itself.”

Jamal Murray and Joel Embiid have been named the Rookies of the Month for October and November.

Murray is averaging 10.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his first 18 games. Murray is shooting 41.6 percent on three-pointers.

Embiid is averaging 18.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. Embiid missed the first two seasons of his career due to injury and is a rookie despite being in the 2014 NBA Draft class.