When Paul Millsap went down injured in Denver last season, Kenneth Faried saw his minutes jump. For a while. He started six games, played with energy and averaged nearly a double-double in those games going 27 minutes a night, and he played with his trademark hustle and grit. It didn’t work for coach Mike Malone and soon Faried was buried on the bench again, playing a career low in games and minutes.
When Faried was traded to the Nets this summer, it was a seen as a salary dump by Denver — and it was for them, they get off the $13.8 million he is owed this season.
But for Faried, this is a chance to prove he can still impact the game given a chance. Don’t use the past tense around Faried, as he noted in his introductory press conference in Brooklyn, via Brian Lewis of the New York Post.“Hey, I never stopped being the player I am. There’s no ‘were,’ ” the 28-year-old Faried said Wednesday as he was introduced at the team’s Brooklyn training facility.
“The Nuggets wanted to go in a different direction. Brooklyn decided, ‘Hey, let’s pick up a still-able, still-capable player who can go out and produce and lead a team and do the things he’s done before.’ … They believed in me, took this chance to trade for me, and I’m excited to be here and produce.”
He can carve out a role with the Nets. Jarrett Allen and Ed Davis will split the bulk of the minutes at center, and at the four there will be Rondae Hollis-Jefferson starting and then Jared Dudley and Faried. The “Manimal” should be able to get some run and prove his worth in a contract year.
But both Faried and Dudley are also there to mentor young players. Faried said he is ready for that.
The Nets are still rebuilding, they are not going to be a powerhouse team by any stretch next season. But Brooklyn is going to be improved (and last season it were already better than expected). It’s a process, but the Nets are finally moving in the right direction under GM Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson, and Faried can be part of that transition.
