Recent trade rumors are out that the Toronto Raptors could pursue Denver Nuggets power forward Kenneth Faried before the new season starts and that the team could use wingman Terrence Ross as a potential trade piece.
The opening of the 2016-2017 NBA season is still more than a month way, but the Raptors are reportedly eager to boost their frontcourt depth to try and maintain their status as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
At the moment, Toronto has Lithuanian sensation Jonas Valanciunas as their starting center, but their power forward depth is open to doubt with Patrick Patterson, Jared Sullinger, and Pascal Siakam competing for minutes.
This prompted Sportsrageous to suggest of a potential trade that will send the Nuggets' tenacious but rumored to be unwanted number four Faried to the Raptors in exchange for a package that will include small forward Ross.
Having Faried alongside Valanciunas, DeMarre Carroll, and their two All-Star backcourt men DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry will definitely further improve head coach Dwane Casey's starting lineup and they could again contend for the East crown against the Cleveland Cavaliers next season.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets is said to be eager to ship out Faried as the team is looking to build on their new-found young core led by Emmanuel Mudiay, Jusuf Nurkic, and Nikola Jokic.
Fansided noted that Denver will want to "continue to try and grow together as a unit" as they are "equipped with a roster full of young talent".
This makes Faried looking somewhat out-of-place in head coach Mike Malone's lineup in terms of the direction the team is heading. The report then indicated that the Nuggets "would be smart to dispose of him sooner rather than later" to begin the process of re-tooling as soon as possible.
However, at 25 years old and with four years of NBA experience, Ross is an ideal fit for Mudiay and company at the wing position.
Ross averaged 9.9 points and 2.5 rebounds coming off the bench to spell Carroll for the Raptors last season. The former Washington Huskies standout and former NBA Slam Dunk contest champion is certainly capable of playing as a starter and getting traded to Denver could be the much-needed break he had been waiting for.
