Brooklyn Nets: Kenneth Faried faces marijuana charge

Brooklyn Nets forward Kenneth Faried was reportedly arrested Sunday in New York state and charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Veteran NBA forward Kenneth Faried, recently acquired by the Brooklyn Nets, was reportedly arrested and charged with a misdemeanor marijuana possession count following his arrest early Sunday morning on Long Island.

According to TMZ.com, Faried was arrested when the vehicle in which he was a passenger was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint on the Montaul Highway in Bridgehampton, N.Y.

A representative of the Southampton Town Police Department told TMZ that the officer at the checkpoint detected the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle.

"The officer at the scene noticed a “strong odor of marijuana was emanating from inside the vehicle.”"

Faried was arrested on a charge of fourth-degree unlawful possession of marijuana, which is a misdemeanor. The other two occupants of the vehicle were ticketed at the scene and released.

Faried received the harsher treatment, said police officials, because of the amount of marijuana he had on him. TMZ reported he was found with more than two ounces, which carries a more severe charge.

The maximum penalty if convicted is one year in jail.

The Nets released a short statement to TMZ:

"“We are aware of the situation involving Kenneth Faried and are in the process of gathering more information at this time.”"

The New York Post reported that Faried was released after posting $500 bail.

Anthony Puccio of Nets Daily also had the report early Monday morning.

The Nets acquired the former first-round pick on July 13 from the Denver Nuggets along with forward Darrell Arthur, a top-12 protected 2019 first-round pick and a 2020 second-round selection in exchange for guard Isaiah Whitehead in what was seen as a salary dump by Denver.

Arthur was subsequently dealt to the Phoenix Suns a week later in exchange for forward Jared Dudley and a top-55 protected 2021 second-round pick.

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The Nuggets selected Faried with the 22nd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft after the former standout at Technology High School in Newark, N.J., earned All-America honors as a senior at Morehead State.

Faried averaged 17.3 points and 14.5 rebounds as a senior for the Eagles and was a two-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year. As a senior, he was also named the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Defensive Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Wooden Award.

That season, Faried led Morehead State to a huge upset of in-state Power 5 program Louisville in the second-round of the NCAA Tournament before the Eagles bowed to Richmond in the third round.

Faried followed that up with a first-team All-Rookie selection in 2011-12 with the Nuggets after starting 39 of 46 games he played in the lockout-shortened season and averaging 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds a game.

In 2012-13, Faried was named the recipient of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. The honor, named for the NBA’s second commissioner, has been given since 1975 to a player, coach or trainer who “shows outstanding service and dedication to the community,” according to NBA.com.

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Faried’s stock continued to rise and, after a solid 2013-14 season in which he averaged a career-high 13. 7 points per game to go with 8.6 rebounds a night, he was named to Team USA’s entry at the FIBA World Cup of Basketball in Spain, starting all seven games for the eventual gold medalists.

But in 2016-17, Faried’s impact and playing time began to erode as Denver committed to a pace-and-space system featuring young guards Jamal Murray and Gary Harris and playmaking center Nikola Jokic.

Faried played just 21.2 minutes per game in 61 games that season, averaging career-lows of 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

Last season, he played in just 32 games while racking up 40 DNP-CDs and did not appear in a game after Feb. 1. His minutes dropped to 14.4 per game, with averages of 5.9 points and 4.8 rebounds.

Faried is a traditional power forward who can function as a small-ball center, but has no real outside shooting ability — he’s 2-for-20 lifetime from 3-point range in his seven NBA seasons.

He is, however, a career 54.3 percent shooter overall, taking nearly 60 percent of his shots in the restricted area and almost 90 percent inside of 10 feet.

While there was initial speculation the Nets would look to buy out the remaining one year and $13.8 million remaining on the four-year rookie-scale extension Faried signed in October 2014, Brooklyn is hoping to rehabilitate Faried’s career as a rotational backup, primarily at the 4.

The Nets will open training camp next month in advance of their preseason opener against the New York Knicks at Barclays Center on Oct. 3. Brooklyn opens the regular season two weeks later, Oct. 17, on the road against the Detroit Pistons.