Faried re-energized
Forward averaging 18.6 points since trade deadline passed
OnFeb. 20, Kenneth Faried stopped being Kenneth Faried and got back to being The Manimal.
The alter ego had been missing for too long.
Faried’smind raced for the better part of the first 3½ months of the season, and it took his slam-dunking, rebound-hunting persona on a roller-coaster ride with it.
But on that day, theNBA’s trade deadline, everything changed. The trade rumors were just that, rumors. The Nuggets made no move. Faried, knowing he’d be with the Nuggets the remainder of the season, finally had peace of mind.
“I knew I was tight on the court because of that,” Faried said. “I tried to not think about it, but itwas getting to me. Iwaswondering and trying to figure out if I should fly my family out here or should I not and just wait until everything cools over. Should I flymy daughter out here to see me or should I not? That’s a lot on you, your family, thinking about that stuff.”
Basketball is a breeze now for the 6foot-8, 228-pound forward who has played the best basketball of his career since deadline day, averaging 18.6 points and 9.4 rebounds. He is back to striking fear in his opponents.
“He’s probably— if not the— one of the top two or three most consistent energy guys in the league,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s continued to try to improve his jumper, his little jump hook, his floater and all of that stuff, but energy-wise nobody plays every down the way he does — and that’s the problem trying to get ready for him. It doesn’t matter who it is, he’s going to outwork whoever it is.”
Faried, who is finishing up his third season in the NBA, has an established brand and game so well respected around the league that he’s emerged as the most coveted commodity on the roster, should the Nuggetswant to trade him. And thatmakes him, in everyway, the most influential player in the franchise’s offseason.
Trading himwould most certainly lead to amajor roster restructuring because of the value moving him could bring back to the franchise. Keeping Faried, however, solidifies the fact that he’s a cornerstone player to build around, along with guard Ty Lawson. Keep those two and the offseason becomes more about getting a lottery pick in the draft and tinkering around the edges.
Denver coach Brian Shaw has called Faried a player the Nuggets plan on building around numerous times in the past few weeks. And why not? Faried has put up allstar numbers since the trade deadline. And, at age 24, he appears to be just scratching the surface of how good he can be.
“I think he could be a problem for teams at the 3 or the 4,” Shaw said. “Not looking for jump shots, but on the break getting out on the floorwherewe can get ahead and he can just attack. If we can get up-and-down and play at the pace and tempo that we want to play, I think he can be a 20-and-9 or 20-and-10 guy.”
Faried has every intention of getting to that level.
Though hewas not a participant in any of this season’s all-star competitions, Faried traveled to New Orleans on a fact-finding mission. He quizzed his all-star contemporaries onwhat it took for them to get to that level.
“You learn a lot fromguyswhomake it to that level and guyswho are legendary, who have made it to that level,” Faried said. “A lot of them said, ‘I just grind. I grind every day and I try to get better every day.’ ”
Aiding his development has been a closer relationship with his coach. A lack of minutes, in addition to the trade talk, caused Faried to keep his distance early on from Shaw, who demanded more fromhim. More consistent energy, more attention to detail, more accountability as one of the stars of the team.
Shaw said his relationship with Faried has always been “fine.”
Faried said the relationship with Shaw took off after the deadline.
“Knowing that I was going to stay, that really evolved,” Faried said. “Because at first I didn’t knowif hewas going to continue to be my coach. Being traded, you get nervous. Is he still going to be here, or am I going to have to worry about going to another team and trying to build a relationship with another coach? You don’t know. Just likewhen Iwas finally getting a rapport with George Karl, they fired him. Then, when the newcoach came in, I got tentative and went away from him.”
Faried acknowledges the respect level is much improved with his new coach. His teammates have gotten accustomed to counting on him every game, when before they might not have been sure.
“A year and a half ago, I was like, ‘He could be aCharles Barkley type of player,’ ” Lawson said. “Maybe not 3-point range yet, but howhe could get it off the rim and take it coast to coast. Undersized, got a lot of energy. Thatwasmy comparison. Now, he’s finally living up to it.”