It's clear Kenneth Faried is a valuable NBA player. With career stats of 11.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and a 20.36 PER, he's got the capabilities to be a starter on a team lacking size or a solid 6th or 7th man off the bench that brings rebounding and energy to a second unit. The challenge though in today's NBA is that big men often need to stretch the court and Faried is certainly not that type of player. So who needs a big rebounder and a glue guy that can help a team in need of front court depth? Where can Faried find a home, be appreciated for his skills (and $12M salary) and be a place where the Denver Nuggets can get value in return?
Unfortunately there aren't very many teams. In fact, only three teams come to mind that might have need. Let's explore the three and see what the Nuggets can do. The NBA Trade Machine says yes... so who says no!
When you lose Zach Randolph and your SF include JaMychal Green and Brandan Wright, you are in desperate need for a player like Faried. Faried can immediately move into their starting line-up and give them 25+ minutes per game. The problem for a deal with Memphis is that they don't have any assets that the Nuggets can use. Their best player, Mike Conley is the PG that the Nuggets are desperate for, but he is an asset that Memphis will surely not trade. Their backup point guard is a 31-year old Mario Chalmers which isn't an upgrade from Jameer Nelson.
Who Says No: Nuggets
This is the trade that takes a lot of guts and foresight from the Denver Nuggets and would certainly put GM Arturas Karnisovas on the map. Miami needs more athletes and a deeper roster. To make a trade that works for all, the Nuggets would have to give Miami both Faried and possibly Gary Harris for PG Goran Dragic. Now I too realize the potential of Harris but he will likely command $25-30M per season and we still don't know if he is the next Gordon Hayward and Peja Stojakovic or if he's Mike Miller and J.R. Smith. With one year left on his salary, the Nuggets would have to commit to this roster for the long term now. Trade for Dragic, and you can move Jamal Murray to his more natural shooting guard position. That creates both a powerful lineup for the next three years (the length of Dragic's deal) and still gives the Nuggets flexibility for the future roster.
Who Says No: Miami, until January, as they likely want to see how their team comes out to start the season after finishing last year so strong and they will assume if Faried is still on the roster, he will be less valuable come January to the marketplace.
The Nets power forwards include: DeMarre Carroll, Trevor Booker, and Quincy Acy. That's certainly not a triumvirate that is striking fear in the NBA's elite. Faried immediately improves that starting lineup and would be reunited in the front-court with Timofey Mozgov, a player with whom he played well in Denver from 2011 - 2014. Comfort and familiarity is important for a league with only five players on the court at once. Also, Faried's positive persona and personality would carry the back pages of the New York tabloids and with the Knicks still in chaos, he is the perfect player to represent Brooklyn and be a positive personality in New York. In exchange, the Nets trade to the Nuggets, Jeremy Lin. Lin is excess now that Brooklyn needs to give D'Angelo Russell as much experience and playing time as possible to develop. He brings great court vision and matches the mental acuity that compliments Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic; The Nuggets offense would be absolutely scary! He is better defensively than people realize and ranks in the 50% percentile for his position according to FiveThirtyEight's Career-Arc Regression Model Estimator (CARMELO). This is an actual improvement at the position defensively over either Emmanuel Mudiay or Jamal Murray.
Who Says No: No one... make the Trade!
