The Denver Nuggets finally pulled off their biggest free agency coup in years following their acquisition of veteran forward Paul Millsap. The 32-year old Millsap provides Denver a versatile scorer at the power forward spot with his ability to score at the post and knock long-range jumpers. At $90 million over three years, Millsap is a quality free agency pickup for the Nuggets. Unfortunately, his arrival presents a bad development for Kenneth Faried’s tenure in Mile High.
The long-due Faried trade
It’s not the first time Faried’s name pop out on the trading mill.
As a matter of fact, The Nuggets have been trying to unload Faried the last three years. At February’s Trade deadline, Denver was close to hammering a deal with the Toronto Raptors, sending him North of the Border but negotiations collapsed in the 11th hour.
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reported multiple teams inquired the Nuggets about Faried’s availability following their acquisition of Millsap. Faried was already dangled in a proposed three-team trade involving the Cavaliers and the Pacers two weeks ago, and it’s becoming clearer now the Nuggets are ready to part ways with the hardworking forward. Faried, who averaged 11.9 points on 54 percent shooting with 7.6 rebounds per game, is expected to earn $13.5 million in the third year of his deal and another $13.7 million the next year.
Potential landing spots
The Cavaliers are without a doubt looking for upgrades this offseason. There’s a reason why the Cavs wanted Faried’s inclusion in the three-team trade that didn’t materialize. Despite the firepower the Cavs have on its roster, rebounding continues to be a glaring problem. The Cavs don’t have first round picks to dangle in trade but they have J.R Smith ($13 million next year) and Iman Shumpert ($10.3 million) to use as trade baits.
The Boston Celtics are the other Eastern Conference elite that could make a run at Faried. General manager Danny Ainge came through with a huge free agency acquisition by getting All-Star forward Gordon Hayward – who was arguably the most prized free agent in the class of 2018.
With Hayward’s arrival, the Celtics have successfully fortified their backcourt and wing positions.
However, in order for the Celtics to absorb Hayward’s max deal, it looks like they have to sacrifice Jae Crowder by sending him to the Jazz in a sign-and-trade deal. All of a sudden, Boston is in danger of losing its most tenacious defender in Crowder. Then again, this team has a deep stash of draft picks to fill that hole, and a strong rebounder and versatile defender like Faried is expected to be on top of their trade wish list.
