NBA Trade Rumors: Kenneth Faried Trade Nears, Nuggets GM Reacts On PF’s Demand To Become A Starter
Denver Nuggets power forward Kenneth Faried is one of the players who’s expected to be moved before the February trade deadline. The 27-year-old big man threatens to demand a trade if he loses the role as starting power forward to Paul Millsap, saying that there are 29 other teams who will respect him and give the playing time he deserves.
His words reached the Denver Nuggets front office and it could only be a matter of time before Kenneth Faried finds his new home. In an interview with the Denver Post, Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas talked about Faried’s demand to become a starter and his team’s goal this season.
“We welcome that. It’s a competitive spirit, and we want our training camp to be competitive. We didn’t want to just give guys playing time. We want them to earn it. That’s a good approach. Whoever earns minutes in the preseason is going to play,” Karnisovas said.
So far, the Nuggets remain unbeaten in the preseason. Paul Millsap managed to leave a good impression in his first preseason game as a Nugget, dropping 22 points and 11 rebounds against the reigning NBA champions Golden State Warriors. If Millsap shows the same intensity in the regular season, there is no doubt that he really deserves to be a starter than Kenneth Faried.
Paul Millsap is undeniably the Nuggets’ best addition this offseason. Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas believes Millsap can help them end their playoff drought this season. The only thing he needs to do right now is to improve his chemistry with Nikola Jokic and the rest of his teammates.
With the current situation, it’s very likely that Kenneth Faried will mostly come off the bench unless Millsap suffers an injury or needs to rest. Faried will surely not love the idea of being just a backup. According to Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders, Faried’s frustration could become a distraction in the Nuggets’ locker room like what Jusuf Nurkic did to them last season.
The Nuggets should start making a move before the situation becomes more complicated. However, Faried’s existing contract and inability to stretch the floor could make it hard for Denver to find an ideal trade partner. Still, Blancarte believes there are few teams in the league who could be interested in adding Faried’s energetic type of play.
With their goal to enter the playoffs this season, it will be best for the Nuggets to unload unnecessary distractions as early as possible. After completely losing the starting spot, Faried could finally start finding his way out of Denver and bring his talent somewhere else.
[Featured Image by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images]
