Kenneth Faried has reportedly been on his way out of Denver for years now, but every trade rumor and bit of speculation always ends up falling through. Now, it seems as if the cogs are finally clicking, as Michael Malone has called Faried the training camp MVP.
“I can’t give Kenneth enough credit in terms of being a true pro,” Malone said after the team’s practice Tuesday. “He had a great camp, his energy and effort level every practice was off the charts.”
There’s been some confusion heading into the season about what Faried’s role with the team will actually be. The selection of Juancho Hernangomez, mixed with a medley of trade rumors and a deep power forward group, left Nuggets fans scratching their heads about the Manimal’s future in Denver.
Maybe, though, that’s only fueled him to work harder, to buy in.
In years past, Faried was handed the starting power forward job, but this season there is some stiff competition for not only the starting role, but minutes in general, and Faried will have to earn everything he receives.
There is a chance Faried is not the team’s opening-night starter, and according to Malone, he’s handled it all well.
“Obviously he’s been a guy that’s been a starter and had great success,” Malone explained. “I think there are some that were worried that if he was not in the lineup, how he was going to handle it … He’s not worrying if he’s starting or not starting.
The Nuggets could be in the unique situation of having a guy of Faried’s caliber coming off the bench, and it could really work.
The Nuggets have a lot of moving parts to deal with, and figuring out what to do with Kenneth Faried is one of them.
As of now, it seems like Faried is doing his part to be as flexible with the team as possible, and that is critical for a team that is still working to find their own identity.
