Maximizing Kenneth Faried a key for Nuggets

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Kenneth Faried in many ways is a victim of the advanced statistics environment that the NBA currently finds itself in and is constantly moving towards.

While we’ve embraced analytics and better ways to grade players on both ends of the floor, the state of Faried’s game that’s predicated on thriving in chaos and counting boxscore numbers has lost value over time in the mind’s of basketball intelligentsia. Fastbreak dunks and high-flying rebounds no longer cement your place in a league that’s become incredibly smart in terms of how we even casual fans view the game of basketball since Faried entered the league in 2011. While Faried can still punish rims and make athletic basketball plays on a nightly basis, his best skills aren’t the ones we value most anymore.

But Faried isn’t simply a player whose time has passed him by. The 26-year-old is still a menace when rolling to the rim who has more gravity barreling down the paint than any other Nuggets big man. He was top-15 in the league at 1.13 points per possession as the role man out of players with more than 100 pick-and-roll possessions last season. He also grabbed the highest percentage of rebounds (19 percent) when he was on the court compared to all other Nuggets players last year, a mark that was top-15 in the league as well.

The logical resolution that Denver could come to regarding Faried is to bring him off the bench. Frankly, Darrell Arthur, who’s a plus-defender, more fluid pick-and-roll container, consistent rim protector, and more versatile offensive player than Faried, fits better with Nikola Jokic. Denver should make it a priority to maximize Jokic’s skill set on offense this season, something that’s done by pairing him with another frontcourt mate like Arthur that complements him best.

Jokic also needs to be paired with a better interior defender who can cover for his mistakes, communicate effectively and anchor Denver on that end of the floor-all things Arthur can do. Sidenote: I wrote about how well Arthur and Jokic played together last season here, but the brief Arthur-Jokic frontcourt pairing scored over a point more per 100 possessions than the Faried-Jokic duo and the former also held opposing offenses to nearly five points less per 100 possessions that the latter, per NBA.com.

From Faried’s perspective, I can totally get that moving to a role off the bench is something he would be hesitant about. Faried has started at power forward for the Nuggets for the better part of the last five years – the entirety of his NBA career. It’s a blow to most player’s ego who have been starting their entire lives to all of a sudden be asked to take up a new role, but not necessarily a reduced one, off the bench.

But the precedent is there. In Memphis, Zach Randolph moved to the bench for 15 games in the middle of last season and the Grizzlies went 7-8 during that span. Al Jefferson is likely heading to a bench role this season in Indiana where he’ll beast other team’s bench units and reserve big men. Imagine Faried matching up against Dwight Powell rather than Dirk Nowitzki, or Brandon Bass instead of Blake Griffin. Players naturally want to play against other great players but the benefits of playing the matchups with Faried are clear.

However, a bench move for Faried only works if the buy-in from the five-year starter is there. Faried averaged 25.3 minutes per game last season – the lowest amount since his rookie year and a number that could drop again this season regardless of the role he plays. This upcoming season is too valuable and too important for the Nuggets to risk making a move like this one if Faried and coach Michael Malone aren’t on the same page.

If healthy, the Nuggets are already set to have one of the league’s best bench units next season. A capable backup point guard in Jameer Nelson, wings in Will Barton and Wilson Chandler who provide arguably the best 1-2 scoring punch off the bench in the league, Arthur and Jusuf Nurkic who are two quality rotation bigs, and Juancho Hernangomez who could get spot minutes as soon as next season. Adding Faried to run the floor with Barton and pairing him in the pick and roll with Nelson could produce fireworks.

Faried is due a little over $12 million next year and is locked into a contract that pays him roughly $38.7 million over the three seasons. It’s a fair-market contract and one that’s suitable for someone in a Faried-type role with the salary cap where it’s at.

We’re roughly a week out from training camp, two weeks away from preseason play and it’s looking more and more like Faried will begin the season with the Nuggets. Let’s stop trying to send Faried out of Denver and start figuring out the best way for the Nuggets to use him moving forward.