Morehead State's Kenneth Faried signs autographs after being taken with the No. 23 pick by the Denver Nuggets during the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 23, 2011, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) — AP
CORRECTS NAME OF PHOTOGRAPHER - Fans of Kenneth Faried, who is from Newark, N.J., cheer as he is selected with the No. 22 pick by the Denver Nuggets in the NBA basketball draft Thursday, June 23, 2011, in Newark. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun) — AP
CORRECTS NAME OF PHOTOGRAPHER - NBA Commissioner David Stern, left, stands next to Morehead State's Kenneth Faried, who was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 22nd pick in the NBA basketball draft Thursday, June 23, 2011, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun) — AP
DENVER — The Denver Nuggets welcomed a fresh face and an old friend on a busy draft night.
The Nuggets beefed up their frontcourt by taking forward Keith Faried with the 22nd pick Thursday night and acquired point guard Andre Miller from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for guard Raymond Felton.
"I was ecstatic, I was happy," Faried said.
Faried was high on the Nuggets' wish list after he worked out with the team June 8 in Denver. Faried's physical style and his rebounding prowess were coveted by the Nuggets, who were looking to strengthen their low post. Veteran Kenyon Martin is an unrestricted free agent, Nene is a restricted free agent and Chris Andersen is coming out of a season in which he was hampered by injuries.
"I think I can make an immediate impact if they don't bring Kenyon Martin back or if they can't bring Nene back," Faried said.
Faried's 1,673 career rebounds set a modern-era NCAA record, surpassing Tim Duncan's mark of 1,570. He had 86 career double-doubles, one behind Duncan in NCAA Division I history.
Faried feels he can duplicate his success in the NBA.
"(Nuggets coach) George Karl said, 'We know how you play, we love how you play, we love your energy,'" Faried said. "If you rebound you'll find your way onto the court.
"I'm not scared. I have the attitude to keep going until I get the rebound."
Despite playing for mid-major Morehead State, Faried raised his profile with a strong showing in the NCAA tournament in Denver last spring. He had 12 points and 17 rebounds in the Eagles' first-round upset of Louisville. He blocked Mike Marra's 3-point attempt at the buzzer to preserve the 62-61 win.
Faried was named the Ohio Valley Conference player of the year for the second straight season after he scored in double figures in 33 of 35 games as a senior, and had 29 double-doubles.
Now he's returning to the city where he played his final college game.
"I had a great feeling about Denver when I played in the tournament there," he said.
The Nuggets are coming off a turbulent season that ended with their seventh first-round postseason exit in eight years. They dealt All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to the New York Knicks for five players in February, and free of the distraction of Anthony's wish to be traded, the team won 18 of its last 25 to finish with 50 wins.
Oklahoma City beat Denver in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
One of the players they got in the Anthony deal was Felton, who backed up point guard Ty Lawson.
This was the first time the Nuggets drafted a player in the first round since 2005, when they picked Julius Hodge at 20 and Jarrett Jack at 22. Hodge played 14 games in parts of two seasons with Denver and Jack was sent to Portland on draft night for Linas Kleiza and Ricky Sanchez.
Miller, 35, played three-plus seasons with Denver before being sent to Philadelphia in the deal that brought Allen Iverson to the Nuggets in December 2006. He signed with Portland two summers ago and he averaged 12.7 points, 7 assists and 3.7 rebounds last season.
The Associated Press
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