Despite a short practice, the Nuggets provided a full serving of drama Thursday.
Forward Kenyon Martin lost his patience with questions about his leaving Denver’s bench late in a 13-point loss at Utah on Wednesday night, and guard Earl Watson made his strongest public statement yet about getting traded.
Martin stayed calm for much of his interview with reporters while discussing his displeasure over his team’s four-game losing streak. He chalked up leaving the bench for the locker room with around three minutes left in Wednesday night’s game to injury treatment.
“My knee was bothering me a little bit. My back was bothering me,” he said. “So I just went back to ice it, just sit down for a minute. It had nothing to do with what was going on. Of course we was losing. That was frustrating. Just the simple fact of losing, you hate losing. I just had to go back there and ice, just calm down a little bit.”
Nuggets strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess coaxed Martin back to the floor soon after he left. Martin said the coaching staff knew what he was doing and that he was not “quitting on my teammates or walking out on the organization, nothing like that.”
Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said Thursday that Martin would not be punished for leaving the bench.
“There are a lot of reasons for leaving a team, obviously going to the restroom or different things,” he said.
“Everyone gets upset at different times, and that was obviously a game to get upset over.”
Vandeweghe earlier this season benched Voshon Lenard for a game after he refused to enter a game.
Martin, pressed by reporters to explain his actions, grew impatient when asked if he thought there would be any repercussions.
“For what? For getting treatment?” he asked. “It’s nothing. I told y’all that when we first started. … If people are always going on what they see, everybody would be wrong all the time. (If) people don’t know what’s going on, people need to keep their mouth closed until you know the situation.
“So y’all jump to conclusions all the time, I guess that’s what y’all do. Y’all are reporters. Y’all do your job. So whatever y’all are going to write, whatever y’all are going to report, that’s fine.”
Martin did not talk to the media after Wednesday’s game.
Nuggets coach George Karl was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Watson, meanwhile, did not pull punches when asked about talk circulating of a possible trade to Seattle.
“I don’t believe it’s a rumor, but I’m not the one making that decision,” said Watson, who has been the subject of trade speculation all season.
“Whoever’s making that decision either’s got to make it or don’t make it. I have nothing against going back to Seattle, especially if I’m not wanted (in Denver).”
He added: “I heard it was up to Denver. Same thing. Somebody’s afraid to make that decision. You can’t be afraid. Got to go with it. What happens if you let it linger out there like that, like it’s been doing, it ends up back-firing, hurting your own team. So I say do it.”
Vandeweghe said he would not respond to trade rumors.
One trade possibility among the teams would send Watson and Bryon Russell to Seattle for Ronald “Flip” Murray, Reggie Evans and Vitaly Potapenko, though that would require Denver to create an extra roster spot by moving or waiving a player.
Whatever happens with Watson, the Nuggets hope a month with six home games and three road games fixes their problems.
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
