The Brooklyn Nets and veteran forward Kenneth Faried parted ways after a brief and controversial tenure, and both sides are probably better off.
It just never seemed to mesh either on the court or in the locker room between the Brooklyn Nets and Kenneth Faried. Only a few weeks after his impressive performance on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks in which he logged 21 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes, he parted ways with the team via buyout. The playing time following that game became scarce, as matchup problems and the emergence of young talent pushed Faried deeper on the bench.
Faried was a starter for most of his seven seasons with the Denver Nuggets, averaging 11.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. The Nets were hoping to get the same type of production when he was acquired over the summer, but an early ankle injury slowed his start to the season. Faried was forced to play catch up and quickly fell behind on the depth chart to players like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and rookie standout Rodions Kurucs, who took advantage of extra playing time.
Faried was also involved in a few off-court issues that didn’t add much positivity to his role on the team. The New Jersey native was arrested back in August of last year for unlawful possession of marijuana and had a social media conflict with teammate Jared Dudley. The Dudley criticism on Instagram that Faried seemingly supported caused an awkward moment for the team in the media.
The Nets eventually agreed to a buyout with Faried, allowing him to sign with the Houston Rockets for the remainder of the season. Head coach Kenny Atkinson spoke with the media shortly after the buyout, praising Faried’s professionalism and putting the blame on emerging young talent taking all the playing time.
"“Just gotta be completely honest, it was more about the other guys playing really well. I really like Kenneth. Getting hurt in training camp (sore ankle) slowed it down a little, so I didn’t get a great look at him, especially at the four. Because that is where we had open spots, opportunities for him. I just felt more comfortable playing a little smaller.“But he did everything we asked. He was a great guy. He busted his tail. He was in shape. Just didn’t think he had great opportunity here.”"
Faried wasn’t as positive about his Nets experience, sharing his very frustrated opinions on the tenure with reporters before suiting up with the Rockets.
"“It’s very frustrating. A lot of, ‘We’re going to play you when injuries,’ and a lot of, ‘We’re going to play you when in this moment, that moment.’ Just tell me when you’re going to play me or tell me if you don’t want to play me. Tell me if you want me here or not. Because I’m a real honest player, I’m going to give you my heart, give you my all. And I wear my emotions on sleeve. I’m not going to be happy if you keep lying to me and telling me false statements.”"
https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1087528211431460864
Faried played 23 minutes in his Houston debut, scoring 13 points off the bench in a 28-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Nets will continue to ride the hot hand at power forward or look to add talent via trade before the deadline or free agency, but it’s safe to say both sides are better off now.