[Izulde]

The images are there, almost larger than life, on the television screen. I can almost smell the smoke, can almost feel my eyes searing from the flames, my ears bombarded by the angry shouts as I stare at the scene and listen to the reporter:

"It's a wild scene here in Rio, where Brazilians, angry at the Nuggets' trade of Marcelino Augusto to the Dallas Mavericks, are rioting in protest. It all started this morning.."

I hit the mute button, looking a few seconds more at the furious faces, the surreal, chilling puppets of me burning. The bonfire's a mixture of Nuggets hats, T-shirts, other Denver memorabilia. There's quite a few Pacers Buboltz jerseys and a handful of just delivered Mavericks Augusto jerseys.

No Nuggets jerseys in the pile I can see. None, that is, save one.

A #6. Mateen's number.

I turn around and look at the faces ringed around my desk.

"So there you have it, gentlemen. We're now Public Enemy #1 in Brazil. Or at least I am."

There's a subdued chuckle from the group. It's all the players and coaches, including Lindsey Williamson, who I re-signed after the deal. Paul Fisher isn't here, though. I cut him so Lindsey could be on the active roster and Emeka Okafor could get more playing time.

I continue after the low laugh dies down.

"We're in a situation where we have to win a third straight title. Anything less and it's a failed season."

They're silent for a moment, letting the import sink in.

Then Jim O'Brien speaks up.

"Listen, Mr. Jestor. I thought it'd be a good idea to bring everyone in once I saw that news story break, like I said. I just wanted you to know that we're all behind you and we're determined to bring that third championship home."

"Yeah!" David Jackson shouts, wearing a gold and black hoodie, the first item in his new 50 Ninja clothing line, "Screw Augusto! We barely won the title with his ass, so this year, we're going to win it boom boom style without his 'I wanna be #1!' emo ass!"

The laughter's louder and more real this time. Jonte Jones is smiling for the first time since he came to Denver and he speaks next.

"Look, you guys know I love Dallas. I't's always gonna be home to me and I wanted to bring the Mavericks a title."

There's a chorus of playful boos which our new center just grins and shakes his head at.

"I know, I know. But you know, I'm thinking we can do this thing. We can win a third straight title, shoot, maybe even a fourth or fifth. Stuff like what we saw on TV just now? That's total crap. Hate the trade if you want, but there's no reason to be a dick about it."

"Exactly", I cut in, "And that's part of the reason why we brought you here, Jonte. I want us to challenge the Boston Celtics' run of titles. Three? Four? Five? Hell, I want nine! I know not all of you will be here for that, but you can be a part of the road to it."

The group cheers, whoops and claps, a few stomping their feet.

"That's why I wanted to come here!" Kenny Graham shouts over the noise, "Well... that and the chance to be the first Mr. Jestor free agent signing to actually be a star player."

More laughter before our prize rookie, Terry Vinson, pipes up.

"Hey, I know I'm not going to make anyone forget Augusto. But I swear to you all right now, I'm going to bust my hump to show Mr. Jestor made the right decision. Devone Allen better watch out, because I'm coming up for his Rookie of the Year title!"

In the din of approval that follows, Emeka Okafor stands up and motions for all of us to get in a huddle and put our hands in the middle. After we do, our team captain speaks into the silence.

"Then let's all swear right here, right now, that we will do whatever it takes to chase the Celtics; this year, next year and the seasons beyond, no matter if we're still playing or if we've moved on to the next chapter in our lives."

Mateen Yeaton takes the last word.

"Remember the Musketeers. Let -that- be our creed. All for one, one for all--no.... better than that. All for nine, nine for all!"

"ALL FOR NINE, NINE FOR ALL!"

**********

And that's how the idea of the Nine Rings Quest was born. There, in my office, with two championship rings already on our hands, literally in a few of our cases. Born out of the fires of adversity, with a will to triumph, to title, to strike back against the criticism that surrounded me and us.

Whether we succeeded or failed, I was at peace for the moment. Although the coming season and the years that followed would dictate the outcome, I was now freed of the worries and anxieties that'd plagued me since I made the trade that earned me so much animosity from so many people.

We opened, as always, on Halloween night against the Lakers. Buoyed by our enthusiasm, we won an incredibly fun 123-112 shootout over the Purple and Gold on the road. Jonte Jones had an absolute stellar Nuggets debut with 37 points and 11 rebounds. Mateen Yeaton scored 26 points, Victor Gipson was a perfect 6/6 for 17 points off the bench and though Kenny Graham got into foul trouble and fouled out, Sabit Suker played extremely well in reserve time, with 8 points and 12 assists.

Jonte Jones was great again with 28 points and 16 rebounds, Kenny Graham issued 12 points and 11 assists, and David Jackson broke out with 22 points, but the bench played poorly and Terry Vinson had a hideous 2 for 12 night as the Timberwolves rallied in the 4th quarter to beat us 101-95.

Undeterred, we beat the Jazz 119-114 the next game as Mateen Yeaton dazzles with 40 points, Jonte Jones puts up 26 points and 11 rebounds, Kenny Graham gets 11 points and 19 assists and Victor Gipson powers the bench with 16 points.

But then we drop both games of the ensuing doubleheader. The Jazz embarass us 106-77 in the rematch, Jonte Jones's 14 points and 10 rebounds a lonely, pedestrian highlight and Seattle beats us at our own run and gun game, beating us 115-107 despite Mateen Yeaton's 35 points and Victor Gipson's reserve 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The horror continues as we fall 120-90 to the Pistons, 24 points from Mateen Yeaton, 14 points and 10 assists from Kenny Graham and 10 bench points from Victor Gipson not enough.

Terry Vinson's a main culprit, shooting an astoundingly awful 29.7%, but we're struggling as a team overall and we frankly shouldn't be. I know it's a small sample size, but I'm thinking maybe Vinson isn't the answer after all.

It's a riddle absent easy solutions, but I strike a deal for a player I think can be our PG of the future, one who's very unhappy on his current team.

Denver Nuggets receive
PG Nolan Hill
Chicago Bulls 2022 1st round pick
Chicago Bulls 2021 2nd round pick
Chicago Bulls 2022 2nd round pick
Chicago Bulls 2023 2nd round pick

Chicago Bulls receive
PF Terry Vinson
PG Mackel Greenleaf

What this means for the Nuggets
Denver's looked terrible to start the season and Vinson's gotten a lot of the blame for it, so off he goes, with Victor Gipson, who's off to a hot start, taking over as the starting PF. GM Jestor sees a possible PG of the future in Hill, a smooth-passing guard with nice all-around shooting and defensive skills. The 24 year old William & Mary grad never got a shot in Chicago, with a career-high 8.1 minutes per game average in 26 games in 2018. He'll definitely get his opportunities in Denver and Jestor now has another 1st round pick to play with.

What this means for the Bulls
Chicago's so terrible at C that Vinson will actually get the start at the five. We think it was far too early to give up on him, despite getting off to a woeful start his first few games (shooting 29.7% from the floor). Greenleaf is a scrub.

Winner: Draw
Both the main players are young guys who haven't had a fair chance with their old teams, so it's impossible to say how it's going to shake out. If we were forced to choose one side, though, we've give the nod to the Nuggets, who have rapidly been piling first round draft picks.

I sign Al Thornton off the street, hoping he still has some offensive boost in his 36 year old legs.

We snap the losing streak at three, edging the Kings 112-106 on the road on the backs of Mateen Yeaton (37 points), Kenny Graham (27 points, 12 assists) and Jonte Jones (17 points, 14 rebounds). Nolan Hill shoots an icky 1 for 8 in his Nuggets debut while Victor Gipson is an unimpressive 2 for 5 his first game in the lineup at PF. Still, a win's a win.

Toronto beats us 108-96 the next game, but we're playing a lot better now. Mateen Yeaton scores 20 and Jonte Jones puts up 16 points and 14 rebounds for our two highlights. I think we'll be okay once everyone gels together.

Our first genuine blowout victory of the year comes against the Bulls, 120-83. Jonte Jones rampages for 32 points and 13 rebounds, Victor Gipson chimes in for 13 points and 13 rebounds, Kenny Graham scores 23 and Nolan Hill leads the bench with 10 points.

It's an important morale boost going into our showdown against the Mavericks, a match I'm naturally dreading. You can imagine my glee when we knock off Dallas 114-104 to give us our first win streak of the season! The victory comes courtesy of Mateen Yeaton's 37 points, David Jackson's 21 points and Kenny Graham's 15 points and 17 assists. Marcelino Augusto scores 19 and Zelipe Gama put in 12 points and 13 assists, by the way.

We can't make it three in a row as the Nets top us 110-102. Mateen Yeaton played well with 22 points and we got perfect shooting nights from Tzvetan Kishishev (12 bench points) and Sabit Suker (10 bench points) but it wasn't enough.

The way the season's gone so far, I'm not all that upset about the doubleheader split that follows. We beat the Spurs 105-91, Jonte Jones leading the way with 27 points and 14 rebounds, Mateen Yeaton scoring 24 and Victor Gipson garnering 10 points and 10 rebounds. Unfortunately, the Rockets beat us 103-100 in a 4th quarter comeback in Houston. Damn shame too as Jonte Jones might finally be getting in the groove with 26 points and 16 rebounds, Mateen Yeaton scoring 22.

Jim O'Brien switches up the lineup, starting Victor Gipson at SF and he responds beautifully, with a 25 point night in our 119-97 shelling of the Hornets. Jonte Jones scores 26, Mateen Yeaton 23 points and Kenny Graham distributed 16 points and 19 assists. Tzvetan Kishishev scored 10 off the bench.

The old lineup's back against Cleveland, but Jonte Jones crushes the Cavs for 40 points and 11 rebounds en route to a 132-116 win. Mateen Yeaton and Kenny Graham each score 29, our PG adding 18 assists to the equation for just our second mini-win streak.

I'm scared to look at the standings.

We're in last place in the division at 8-7, 3.5 games behind the 11-3 Portland Trailblazers. The boo birds are screaming for both me and Jim O'Brien to be fired, especially since the Mavericks are 12-5 and already 5.5 games up in their division over the 6-10 Spurs.

The Miami Heat are 0-16, primed for another top pick. Other than that, the East is a dogfight between the Nets, Raptors and Magic. The Pistons presently lead the Central at 9-5, 1.5 ahead of the 7-5 Bulls. Cleveland's lost without Lebron, already 5-11. Then again, Boston's 2-12 and doing a great job of sucking themselves.

What an absolutely deranged first month it's been.