The Denver Nuggets and Kenneth Faried are working on a contract extension heading into the season, but there is a good chance Faried will come up in trade rumors this year if a deal doesn't get done and teams like the NY Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Celtics and Lakers could be interested after the strong performance he had for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Faried is heading towards a major juncture in his career, as he is set to get a contract extension and if that doesn't go down, he will be a restricted free agent next summer. RFAs can have a hard time getting deals these days, but there is also a chance the Nuggets will look to trade Faried if they can't work out a deal. Denver obviously wants to keep Faried, but his value may never be as high as it is now and if they can't work out a deal with him by the October deadline, a deal could happen later in the season.
Faried is one of the top young bigs in the league and he showed during the FIBA World Cup that he is also one of the best players in the United States. PBT reports that Faried may have made himself a nice chunk of money with his play at the tournament, as he was one of the leaders on the team and was the strong big man on the team. Last year with Denver he put up 13 points and eight rebounds per game and his numbers should only get better as he continued to develop.
Faried now is going to be able to command a major contract and even if the Nuggets want to keep him, they may not be able to come to an agreement on an extension. Faried could get a ton of money on the open market and while he will be an RFA next summer, he could be the next major free agent to hit the market after that. Faried watched how Kevin Love dealt with his impending free agency and now he could take a similar track to what Love did.
A comparison for Faried is what Al Jefferson got on his deal with the Hawks with $13.7 million coming next year and Faried likely will have numbers comparable to Jefferson come next season. The Nuggets had the chance to be a surprise team last season in the west, but they ended faltering while dealing with injuries and now they could bounce back after bringing in Arron Afflalo from the Magic. Faried is one of the top young players in the league and
The Nuggets won 36 games last season and went just 5-11 against their division and while they ranked ninth in points per game, the team was 28th in defense. The team was ranked second in rebounds per game and that was helped along by Faried and now the team has the chance to bounce back this season. Faried will be a target for teams and it's likely that the Nuggets try and hold on to him for as long as possible while the two sides work on a deal.
