Soon-to-be restricted free agent forward Kenneth Faried doesn’t know what to expect as he heads toward the final year of his rookie-scale deal with the Denver Nuggets. Faried says nothing’s guaranteed in the NBA. Per the Denver Post:
So, right this minute, that’s under the $14 million to $22 million the top power forwards make but more than the $9.5 million of a player such as Atlanta’s Paul Millsap. Add in his standing on the Nuggets’ roster — he’s the team’s second-best player — and his exploding box-office appeal, and the price tag could fall right in that $10 million to $11 million per-year range. Modestly. He will be in search for more, no doubt.
It might be difficult for the Nuggets to justify to themselves shelling out a contract to Faried worth more than Ty Lawson’s $12 million average, however.
Taking the current roster and projecting it out over the next few years, in the summer of 2015 the Nuggets could have wiggle room. There is currently roughly $59 million in salaries, including qualifying offers. Cap holds present another challenge. But the contracts of Darrell Arthur, Nate Robinson and Anthony Randolph expire after next season and Wilson Chandler’s $7.1 million salary for 2015-16 isn’t fully guaranteed.
Faried said he’s not worried about any of that. But he’s also not sure if he’ll be around at the start of next season.
“I don’t know, honestly,” Faried said. “I just don’t know. It’s the NBA. You can’t be too secure anywhere. I thought Nene was going to be a Nugget for the rest of his life, and he just got traded out of nowhere. That was the first big trade I ever saw in my life, and it baffled me because he was a great player here and he was here a long time. He finally bought his house out here and the next thing you know he was gone. You can never be too secure.”
