Faried dismisses salary-dump label: 'I never stopped being the player I am'
After being increasingly marginalized within a frontcourt brimming with talent, Kenneth Faried's trade from the Denver Nuggets to the Brooklyn Nets might be viewed as little more than a salary dump.
Faried, owed $13.9 million in 2018-19, doesn't see the deal in that light, but rather an opportunity to re-establish himself in a new environment where he can be embraced rather than unutilized.
"Hey, I never stopped being the player I am. There’s no 'were,'" Faried said Wednesday, according to the New York Post's Brian Lewis.
"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."
The 28-year-old was a beloved figure in the Mile High City at his peak with the franchise, winning over the masses with his seemingly limitless supply of energy and unmatched tenacity on the glass. As Denver began increasing Nikola Jokic's touches, traded for Mason Plumlee and Trey Lyles, and signed Paul Millsap, it became clear that the one-dimensional Faried would be the odd man out in the rotation.
In Brooklyn, Faried - a Newark, N.J. native - has been invigorated by a newfound sense of optimism.
"This is for me more so an opportunity to just play," added Faried. "It’s, 'Hey, come in and be yourself. You’re basically a rookie again, take it as that because you’re on a new team.' They have (starters) in place, a whole rotation. I’m the type who’d like to come in like I was a rookie and mess all that up. In no disrespectful way, but mess it up in a positive way.
"The intangible things I do, I want to rub off on my teammates. My energy is contagious, so my energy when I was in the game doing the things I did (was) contagious around the whole team, the stadium. That’s why when you hear 'We want Manimal!' back when I was in Denver, or fans chanting, 'We Want Manimal,' it’s for a reason: Because I bring that energy and that’s what I plan to do here."
Faried averaged 11.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks across 441 career appearances with the Nuggets, who saved $43 million in salary and projected tax by sending him and veteran Darrell Arthur to the Nets.