The Toronto Raptors could be a potential suitor for power forward Kenneth Faried, who remains available on the trading block despite signing a five-year, $60 million contract.
The availability of Faried on the trading front is quite a surprise especially after his big performance at the FIBA World Cup that led the Nuggets to sign him with a lucrative contract extension last summer.
The 6-foot-8 power forward is averaging 11.6 points and 7.2 rebounds this season for the Nuggets, who have been the biggest disappointment in the early phase of the season.
In the second year of Brian Shaw, Denver is expected to be among the elites in the Western Conference because of its incredible depth across five positions, but the team has surprisingly come up with three wins in 10 games.
Nuggets general manager dropped a bomb this week when he admits in front of the media that all of the players on the roster are considered tradable assets.
"Every player on our roster is a movable asset," Connelly said in an interview with Kevin Arnovits of ESPN. "Certainly you don't want to view players as assets, but there's a part of you in the front office that has to be brutally honest with how these guys are viewed league-wide. We don't have a guy on the roster we'd have to heavily incentivize to move."
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Faried is a fan favorite in Denver, but Arnovits reported that the Nuggets front office isn't too high on the energetic big man.
"Faried was a fan favorite in Denver, but multiple sources with knowledge of the Nuggets' thinking maintain the team "isn't crazy about him," particularly Shaw," Arnovits reported.
"But with Faried's boffo showing last summer with Team USA and a loyal following in Denver, the media-conscious Nuggets caved, adding yet another imperfect 4-man to their lot."
The Raptors are expected to be one of the leading suitors for Faried because of the player's association with general manager Masai Ujiri, the guy that drafted him 22nd overall in 2011.
Another possible destination for Faried is the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and the Houston Rockets, who all expressed interest in the power forward.
