Denver Nuggets: What's The Future For Kenneth Faried?

Mar 15, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) reacts during double overtime of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. The Nuggets defeated the Pelicans 118-111 in double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets have a cluster of big men to rely on, and with Kenneth Faried becoming expendable, they might want to consider moving him

With the 22nd pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets selected Kenneth Faried, and although he was drafted relatively late, his prospects were fairly high.

He was coming off an impressive showing in the NCAA Tournament, when he exploded onto the scene as a key cog for the Morehead State Beakers and their huge upset win in the first round of the Tourney.

However, he’s struggled to find a role in the Nuggets cluttered frontcourt. With the expectation that he could one day develop into a special player, Faried is now riding the bench behind Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic.

So…what happened?

His limited ability is one of his biggest flaws, so we’ll explore that a bit.

Offensive Troubles

Faried saw most of his offense shine during seasons where Danilo Gallinari was injured, Timofey Mozgov offered nothing but a big body, and the remaining big men on Denver’s roster were incapable of doing anything on either end of the floor.

Even with his allotment of minutes from the 2012-13 season to 2014-15, Faried was only able to average 13.7 points per game, at the max.

Faried’s points per game average are so low because, like Blake Griffin in his early days, he is limited in scoring ability.

Perhaps the fault can’t be brought on Faried alone, as he’s had a good facilitators in Ty Lawson, Emmanuel Mudiay and Andre Iguodala. There is definitely a big responsibility, though, that happened to fall on Faried which he was unable to live up to. Griffin adapted to the NBA and has managed to develop a skill set that helps his team.

In Faried’s case, his offense has relied heavily on his high-speed motor.

He’ll throw down dunks all game, rebound off a miss and flip up a quick layup attempt and on rare occasions, he’ll drop a mid-range jumper to cap off his scoring.

Despite all that effort, though, Faried is unable to space the floor like most power-forwards are able to do nowadays, and that hurts his value in Denver. Jokic and Nurkic take jump shots from all over the court, something Faried doesn’t seem accustom to.

Jan 28, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) blocks a dunk attempt by Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Nuggets won 117-113. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive qualities

Now even though his offense can hurt, his defensive abilities are definitely something to consider if the Denver Nuggets are truly willing to dispatch him.

Faried’s intensity and motor allow for more than just dunking and rebounding.

Perhaps you remember this gem:

This is only one example, and it was in the open court, but it was a hell of a block.

Despite averaging below one block per game over his career, Faried has still shown that he can excel at blocking shots against players of any size, and at 6-foot-7, that is pretty impressive.

In the 2015-16 season, Faried was played at the center position, which seemed a bit questionable at first, but after the stat lines he collected, Faried looked like a stud for a change. He hit the 20 point, 20 rebound mark on a few occasions, which was pretty major.

Aside from the blocks, Faried’s defensive rebounding proves vital because it shows just how much he’s beating other big guys to the ball. So, there is definitely a positive aspect to Faried’s style of play.

Nov 6, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth faried (35) drives to the basket in front of Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko (8) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Miscellaneous problems

The only other flaw we could probably point out in Faried’s game is his role as a passer.

Naturally, players of his stature are not entirely responsible for dishing the ball to open shooters or slashers. However, if Faried kept the extra pass in the back of his mind, he might be able to redeem himself for his limited offensive output.

If you look at Jokic, he has his eyes all over the place when it comes to passing.

Again, this is only one example of his talent, but assists like this are pretty hard to come by for a big man. Jokic averaged only 2.5 assists per game last season, but there was a stretch of about nine games where he had at least three assists, and the Nuggets wound up winning five of those games.

Of course, that is not the sole reason the Nuggets won those games, but it puts into perspective just how flexible Jokic can be, which is why he’s earned the starting role this season.

Faried’s future with the Denver Nuggets is not guaranteed, though it isn’t impossible if they decided to keep him for his energetic presence. Given the circumstances, though, Denver might be tempted to shop Faried for some other prospects.