In a salary-shedding move, the Denver Nuggets have traded Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur, a top-12-protected 2019 first-round pick and a 2020 second-round pick in exchange for Isaiah Whitehead, whom they will waive. From ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
The Denver Nuggets agreed to trade forwards Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur, a 2019 protected first-round pick and a 2020 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets, league sources told ESPN.
The Nuggets acquire guard Isaiah Whitehead in the trade, whom they will waive, league sources said.
This is a win for both teams; the Nuggets clear space, finally getting rid of Kenneth Faried’s salary, which they’ve been trying to do for years. The Nets get a nice pick; unless something goes catastrophically wrong for the Nuggets next season, they shouldn’t have a top-12 draft pick. Their pick was 14th last season, and that was with an injured Paul Millsap. Plus, they have Isaiah Thomas now, and their young talent will continue to improve. The Nets will probably have two first-round picks next season.
Faried is a good energy guy and rebounder but isn’t a shooter or a good defender, which severely hurts his value as a player. He fell out of Denver’s rotation last season, appearing in just 32 games and playing 14.4 minutes per game. For his career (all seven seasons have been spent with the Nuggets), he’s averaged 11.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game on 54.3 percent shooting.
Arthur, 30, is a 6-foot-9 power forward. Over the course of his nine active NBA seasons, he’s averaged 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Whitehead will become a free agent after being waived. Some team should take a flier on him. At 23 years old, he’s still quite young. Through his two NBA seasons following a standout career at Seton Hall University, he’s averaged 7.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game on 41.1 percent shooting.
