Kenneth Faried is stuck behind two All-Star-caliber players in the frontcourt, making his desire to be in the starting five something that will be pushed back and likely one that isn't bound to happen anytime soon.
As the odd man out of what seems to be shaping up to be a big man regalia in Denver, his name has been thrown around in many trade rumors throughout the last few years, which hasn't perturbed the high-flying forward most recently.
“I actually like it,” Faried told Nate Kreckman and Ryan Harris on Altitude 950 about the recent rumors. “Honestly, before I used to hate it, because it’s like wow they want to trade me, but now I’m thinking, hey, I’m still being talked about, people still know my work in the NBA and that’s respectful and humbling to me.”
Faried has struggled since peaking during his second and third seasons (2012-14), failing to become that double-double spark plug the team needed him to be or develop himself as a shooter or shot blocker.
“Hey, I may not have had some of the best years recently to me and to myself, and I’m like yo, I still can do this and I know I can and it took me last year I wasn’t starting then I became a starter here and then not starting and started again at the end of everything and it’s like a lot,” said Faried. “But hey, I take it with a grain of salt and just keep grinding and just focus on the main prize and that’s our team winning and trying to make it to the playoffs and win a championship pretty much.”
“So that’s been my main goal and whatever I need to do I’m just going to do on the court and if people talk about me in trades, (inaudible) that means I’m still worthy and people still respect my game and still want me to be on some team somewhere.”
The Manimal still boasts plenty of potential as a solid rebounder and nifty casual scorer that can help a team if the Nuggets choose to ultimately trade him. His minutes went down to a mere 21.2 per game last season, which could indicate the near end of his six seasons with the franchise.
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