For seven years Kenneth Faried has been a key player for the Denver Nuggets. Now his time at the club is over and reports state that he’s been traded to the Brooklyn Nets for next season after.
Faried is a big signing for the Nets with an impressive record over the last six seasons since he was the 22nd choice in the 2011 NBA draft. He impressed in his first season and that gained him a lot more time on the court the following season. Faried repaid the faith that was seen in him by posting some impressive scoring performances and became known as ‘Manimal’ by the fans and finished third in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting for the 2011/12 NBA season. 2014 saw him sign a multi-year contract extension with the Nuggets where he showed his worth scoring 26 points and a career-high 25 rebounds in a win over Minnesota Timberwolves.
Nets Busy Signing Players
Brooklyn Nets have been busy signing players and it looks as if the new season will see Faried, who is owed $13.8m next season, on their team as well as another Nuggets player Darrel Arthur, a top-12 protected 2019 first-round pick and a future second-round pick in an exchange for Isaiah Whitehead who they will waive.
The Nets still have $2.6m in cap space available and have 14 players under contract. It looks as if they can also sign Joe Harris because of the Early Bird exception.
Taxing Times for the Nuggets
The Nuggets have had to reduce their salaries for next season otherwise they would have been facing the prospect of paying a luxury tax. The deal will save them $21m in salaries and that should be enough to see them not have to pay a massive $43m tax bill in 2018/19.
Double-Double Threat
He’s seen as a ‘nightly double-double threat’ and averaged more than 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Last season wasn’t so hot for him though as he struggled for time on the court with Nikola Jokic, Wilson Chandler, Paul Millsap, Mason Plumlee and Trey Lyles all commanding regular minutes. That led to not such a great return from him as he only averaged 5.9 points, 4.8 boards and 0.4 blocks with just an average of 14.4 minutes per game.
He’s still regarded as a dynamic finisher in transition and his tremendous energy regularly sees him crashing the boards. Not a massive surprise considering he’s 6’ 8” and weighs 228 pounds. 59.7 percent of his career field-goal attempts to date have come within three feet of the rim, with another 29.5 percent coming between three and 10 feet.
However, last season the Nuggets found themselves being outscored by five points per 100 possessions when he was playing for them. It’s clear Faried is best used now as a high-energy contributor who can come off the bench.