Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets

Age: 28

2017-18 Per-Game Stats: 5.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.4 blocks, 51.4 percent shooting

Advanced Stats: 17.4 PER, minus-20.46 TPA, minus-1.46 RPM

Contract Details: 1 year, $13.8 million  cheap wholesale nfl jerseys china

It feels like Kenneth Faried has been up for grabs since he first signed a four-year, $50 million extension with the Denver Nuggets in 2014. That he’s still on the roster entering the final season of his deal is equal parts surprising, impressive and telltale of the NBA’s shifting priorities.

Tweener bigs who don’t protect the rim, hold their own when defending in space or shoot threes are something worse than afterthoughts. Faried has seen the league pass him by, and splitting time at center hasn’t helped him catch up or remain part of the Nuggets rotation. He made his last appearance on Feb. 1 and received spin in just seven total games after Dec. 15.

That trend isn’t tracking toward change in 2018-19. cheap nfl jersey wholesale Denver’s frontcourt carousel remains over max capacity, and Faried is still the same niche contributor—a high-motor floor-runner with at-times explosive finishing and plus rebounding.

Mason Plumlee draws the line on what type of non-shooter the Nuggets can play. And he at least creates space with his screens and passing. Faried won’t ever supersede him, so a return to the chopping block seems imminent.cheap nfl jerseys wholesale china

The Nuggets tried moving him to no avail at the February deadline, per Altitude Sports’ Chris Dempsey. They’ll redouble those efforts over the offseason. They may have no choice.

Carrying Will Barton’s cap hold will leave Denver with a tick more than $118 million in commitments if Darrell Arthur and Wilson Chandler exercise their player options. That net cost will then explode if, as expected, Nikola Jokic (team option) receives a max deal.cheap authentic nfl jerseys from china wholesale

Tack on a $25.3 million starting salary for him, and the Nuggets are looking at a payroll north of $140 million—well past the $123 million luxury-tax threshold. Paying that much to float the status quo of a lottery team doesn’t look great, even though a base nucleus of Barton, Jokic, Gary Harris, cheap nfl authentic jerseys wholesale Paul Millsap and Jamal Murray could wind up being worth the trouble.

Dangling another pick or prospect should be enough to lop off Faried’s expiring salary and gives the Nuggets an outside hope of ducking the tax without making other moves. And should they resign themselves to financing an enormous payroll, his contract becomes great salary filler for a needle-nudging trade.

(Arthur, Faried and a second-rounder for Kent Bazemore anyone?)