Mike Malone criticized the Denver Nuggets' mentality following their 132-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

"We were soft tonight from beginning to end. They didn't feel us on either end. They got whatever they wanted. We couldn't run offense because they took us out of our stuff, and we just allowed them to do it for 48 minutes. They're a good team, but I'm just very disappointed in our competitive spirit and our effort," said Malone after the game.

Malone added that his team never responded to the intensity of the game.

"We came into this game thinking it was just going to be a standard NBA game. They approached this game like something was on the line, and you could tell a difference from the jump ball all the way until the final buzzer."

Will Barton reportedly gave a five minute speech after the game, telling his teammates how the league considers them to be soft.

"They think if they get into us, they can disorient anything we do. They did that tonight. Our offense was stagnant from [the start]. They weren't feeling us on defense. I think going forward, these teams we've got to beat to be elite. If we talk about [a] championship, we can throw it out the window if we ain't going to show up in [these] games," said Monte Morris. 

Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum have been named the NBA's Players of the Week.

Jokic averaged 27.3 points, 14.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists as the Denver Nuggets went 3-0.

Tatum averaged 29.8 points and 7.5 rebounds as the Boston Celtics went 4-0.

The Denver Nuggets have requested waivers on Gerald Green, whom they recently acquired as part of a 12-player, 4-team deal.

Green has sat out the entire season due to a foot injury.

The Nuggets will have one open roster spot after waiving Green.

The Washington Wizards have agreed to trade Jordan McRae to the Denver Nuggets for Shabazz Napier.

The Nuggets acquired Napier as part of this week's four-team trade involving Robert Covington and Clint Capela. 

Clint Capela and Robert Covington are part of a four-team deal involving the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, and Atlanta Hawks.

The Rockets receive Covington, Jordan Bell, and the Hawks' 2024 second-round pick via the Warriors in the deal.

The Hawks receive Capela and Nene.

The Timberwolves receive Malik Beasley, Juan Hernangomez, Evan Turner, Jarred Vanderbilt, and a 2020 first-round pick from Atlanta via Brooklyn.

The Nuggets get Gerald Green, Noah Vonleh, Shabazz Napier, Keita Bates-Diop, and a 2020 first-round pick from Houston (via the Timberwolves). Green will also waive his trade veto rights to complete the deal. 

The Denver Nuggets remain incredibly bullish on the future of Michael Porter Jr., who is in his rookie season after missing all of 18-19.

"Michael Porter Jr. is not going anywhere," said Sam Amick on the Tampering podcast. "I was even told that this is a rare thing in those parts, but from somebody just a few days ago is a Stan Kroenke edict that coming on high from ownership that he's so in love with Michael that he doesn't want him going anywhere. That doesn't sound like a card that Stan plays all that often. I found that interesting."

Porter is averaging 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game this season with the Nuggets. Porter has had a 21.5 PER in December and 22.5 in January.