Just when we thought the air had cleared, the tire fire continues to flare at Chopper Circle.

The Nuggets — a mess when the season started; a mess when they lost six in a row, then seven in a row, then six in a row twice more; a mess when Brian Shaw called out his players, twice; a mess when Shaw was finally fired before a full-on revolt unfolded — have gotten even messier.

“It’s tough when you’re fighting together but you’re getting set up for failure,” Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler said after a 92-81 loss at Memphis on Monday night.

Nine Nuggets played, including Joffrey Lauvergne. Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari and Kenneth Faried were not among them. They sat.

You don’t need to read between the lines. It’s right there. Chandler thinks Nuggets’ management wants to tank.

“I have no idea what they are going to do,” Chandler said. “Whoever is on the court just has to keep playing. It’s the nature of the business. I’m not a GM — I don’t know what’s going on.”

Melvin Hunt, so far a fine company man since taking over as interim head coach, said tanking wasn’t the idea. And Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly gave Hunt the customary kiss of death compliment of an interim coach.

It’s difficult to remember a team that frazzled so openly. Credit to ’em. At least they’re transparent, even if it’s not intentional.

So let’s play a game of “Need, Want, Take” with the Nuggets:

• The Nuggets NEED to rebuild — and quickly. If they fall much lower it could take a decade to get back to the playoffs. Remember the 1990s? That rebuild starts with the NBA draft in June. They desperately WANT a high draft pick. Right now, the Nuggets have the eighth-best chance at the No. 1 pick, 2.8 percent odds of finding that lottery ball. They’ll certainly TAKE a top-five pick, although their odds at a top-three pick are just 10 percent.

(Speaking of tanking, if your shenanigans detector didn’t go off with Chandler’s comments Monday, it should have. Why would the Nuggets tank a game in March when they’re nine games “behind” the fourth-place Lakers in the lottery pool? The Nuggets’ 2.8 percent chance at the No. 1 pick would jump to just 11.9 percent if they caught the Lakers. Still not great odds. If they really wanted to tank, they’d be trading all their players for a D-League roster. Did you see the Lakers-Knicks starting lineups last week?)

• The Nuggets NEED to score in the draft, no matter the pick. They need a contributor, not a project. They WANT Jahlil Okafor, Duke’s fab freshman big man. Everybody wants him. They’ll TAKE 6-foot-6 forward Justise Winslow out of Duke. They’ll probably also take Mario Hezonja out of Croatia who plays for George Karl’s former rival, FC Barcelona. But he just turned 20. Do they want that?

• The Nuggets NEED to hire a full-go coach. For now and the future. Connelly said it’ll happen after an “exhaustive search.” But the chances of them going with another rookie head coach are slim. Sorry, Melvin Hunt. Wrong place, wrong time. The Nuggets seem to WANT a veteran guy who can bring back a professional atmosphere. They’ll TAKE Mike D’Antoni. And don’t poo-poo him just because he’s been around. D’Antoni has lasted this long because he can coach.

• The Nuggets WANT and NEED and will definitely TAKE a quick end to this horrible season.

Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nickgroke



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