The Manimal is not a happy camper.

As the Nuggets get to work in preparation for the NBA season, Kenneth Faried stubbornly refuses to accept a reserve role and defiantly insists if Denver can’t give him the minutes on the court he deserves, there are 29 other teams in the league where he can go play.

“I’ll just put it out there for everybody. I’m not a bench player. I’ve been saying that for the longest. I’m a starter,” Faried said Monday, when I asked him about his status with the Nuggets. “I love to hear the crowd (when introduced as), ‘Starting at power forward, No. 35, Kenneth Faried.’ Yes, that’s me. One hundred percent, that’s been my whole life. And I’m going to fight for a starting position. I’m just not going to lay down and let somebody take it. ”

Hate to burst your bubble, Manimal, but you are no longer a starter. The debate’s over. The power forward job belongs to Paul Millsap. Period.

Everyone in town, including Nuggets coach Michael Malone, anticipates Millsap, named to the All-Star Game in four consecutive seasons in Atlanta before signing a three-year, $90 million deal with Denver, will become the alpha dog on a team seeking its first playoff berth since 2013.

Let’s just say Faried does not quite share the same enthusiasm for Millsap’s arrival. If the Manimal can’t be a major contributor in Denver, he is ready to move on to another NBA city.

“There are 29 other teams,” said Faried, whose contract with the Nuggets runs through 2019. “If this team doesn’t want, or respect me enough, to play me the minutes that I think I deserve to play, then I understand that. Hey, there’s 29 others. Maybe I’ll go somewhere else and do what I need to do there. But at the same token, I’m here in Denver, and I want to play Manimal basketball, no matter what, every time I step on that court.”

The basketball math does not bode well for Faried’s happiness. Figure it this way: Between center and power forward, Malone has 96 minutes of court time to allocate. Give Millsap 32 minutes per game and emerging star Nikola Jokic 30 minutes on a regular basis at center. Mason Plumlee, who recently agreed to a new three-year, $41 million deal, figures to get at least 22 minutes per night as the primary backup to Jokic and Millsap.

Well, that leaves a scant 12 reserve minutes per game for Malone to divide at power forward and center among Faried, Juan Hernangomez, Darrell Arthur and Trey Lyles. Something’s got to give.

“I can’t play everybody,” said Malone, who wants to establish a regular rotation of no more than nine players in the hope of avoiding the tension as stubborn as the odor of dirty socks that lingered last season in the Denver locker room. As training camp opens, Faried seems to rank ninth, at best, in the roster’s pecking order. It smells like trouble again. Related Articles September 21, 2020 What happened in Nuggets’ devastating Game 2 loss to Lakers, and can they recover?

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Faried plays with a chip on his shoulder and wears his heart on his sleeve, major reasons why fans love him.

“If we don’t make the playoffs, then it’s a waste of a year,” Faried said.

He roars like a Manimal. But, too often, Faried acts like a diva when things don’t go to his liking.

It’s an uncomfortable situation. Sure, it might somehow work out without a nasty divorce and a hasty trade that sends Faried packing from Denver. But it’s hard to see how.