Prediction: Denver Nuggets Will Not Sign Kenneth Faried To An Extension Before Season
By Len Nunes
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The exuberance with which Kenneth Faried plays the game makes fans want to cheer for him. Coach Shaw, in a recent interview with the Denver Post’s Christopher Dempsey, openly gushed, “I definitely want to have him back…Kenneth finished out the season very, very strong. We clashed at times at the beginning of the season because of what I expected, and I hold the guys to a high standard, just like I hold myself. I saw some things in him this year.”
Kenneth Faried is entering the final year of his rookie scale contract. The Denver Nuggets have until October 31st to sign Faried to a contract extension. Doing so thereby removes him from the 2015 free agent class. My prediction is that Faried will the enter the season without a contract extension. My theory of Faried not being signed to an extension starts with General Manager Tim Connelly introducing Nugget fans to two new power forwards (JJ Hickson and Darrell Arthur) during his first summer on the job. Many fans still scratch their heads at the signing of Hickson because in many respects he is a Faried clone.
“We clashed at times at the beginning of the season because of what I expected, and I hold the guys to a high standard.” – Brian Shaw
Going into last season many wondered how Faried, who was a perfect fit for former coach George Karl’s style, would fit in with Coach Shaw’s style. Methinks the GM may have been one of the folks wondering the loudest. I believe the preconceived notion of the new GM was to trade Kenneth Faried last season BUT a season ending injury to JaVale McGee changed the plan. With JJ Hickson injured and not expected to return until January, it does not make much sense to trade Faried now. Even without a contract extension, Faried’s value at the trade deadline will be equal, if not more, than what it is now.
I am not sure why the Nuggets organization would risk getting into a bidding war for Kenneth Faried in the summer of 2015 but it’s a feeling I just can’t shake.