The Houston Rockets were eager to take a chance on the recently-waived Kenneth Faried, giving them another potential lob-catching option and high-energy big after starter Clint Capela went down to injury. Faried was traded to the Brooklyn Nets from the Denver Nuggets, team which he played for seven seasons before parting ways.

While the Nets represented a fresh start and the opportunity to play close to his hometown of Newark, New Jersey — the playing time just wasn't there for him, as management failed to deliver on their promise.

Faried was stuck behind Jarrett Allen and Ed Davis ahead in the depth chart, playing in just 12 games and averaging only 9.8 minutes during them. His prior stint with the Nuggets in 2017-18 wasn't much different.

Mired in the final season of his contract, he felt he never won the trust of his coaches and never really clearly understood his role for the team.

“That was the perception I got (with the Nets),” Kenneth Faried told Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “‘I don't know you yet.' A lot of beating around the bush of why they didn't play me. Y'all are hindering my career. Just tell me when you are going to play me and tell me when you're not going to play me. Tell me if you want me here and tell me if you don't. I'm a real honest player. I'm going to give you my heart. I'm going to give you my all. I wear my emotions on my sleeve, so I'm not going to be happy if you keep lying to me.

It was pretty clear then that Faried would use the Nets as a means to find another stop, eventually.

“Brooklyn to me was a stop to get back to the league, to train and get right and do what I did (Monday) night on a new team.”

Once nicknamed “The Manimal,” Faried shined in his debut with the Rockets, despite only having less than three hours to sign with the team and go through pre-game warmups before taking on the Philadelphia 76ers. His 13 points and six rebounds were palpable, but not enough to keep the Rockets from suffering their worst loss of the season.