Kenneth Faried, of the Denver Nuggets, is set out to join his teammate, JaVale McGee, and New York Knicks star, Amar’e Stoudemire, in workout out with the legendary big man Hakeem Olajuwon in August. It was reported that Faried is likely to spend a week with Olajuwon, while McGee and Stat are likely to spend multiple weeks with him, although this isn’t 100% certain.
Kenneth Faried had a monstrous rookie season with Denver averaging 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, ranked 11th in dunks in the leage (JaVale ranked number two) and acquired 12 double-doubles during his initial season in the league, which gave him a #39th ranking among all players with double-doubles.
These sessions are reported to cost $50,000 a week, which is why the inital report of Denver sending all four big men (Kosta Koufos and Timofey Mozgov) has been now limited to just JaVale and Kenneth — the two bigs that do start, have plenty of upside, and will take advantage of any and all time spent with The Dream.
Olajuwon, arguably one of the best centers the league has ever seen, has worked with notable big men in the league for quite a few years including Dwight Howard. Faried will also join the likes of Serge Ibaka, of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Tyson Chandler, of the New York Knicks, in working out with the former Houston Rockets center.
Denver Nuggets enthusiasts should be clamoring with joy at the thought of two of their favorite players will be working with Hakeem this month.
Come October, I believe fans will be pleased with the progress Faried and McGee will have made.
