Derrick Favors is in the last year of a contract the Utah Jazz are unlikely to extend, so he’s preparing himself for a summer of uncertainty this offseason.
The Utah Jazz effectively decided Derrick Favors wasn’t going to be part of their long-term future when they signed Rudy Gobert to a $100 million extension in October last year.
They crunched the numbers and knew, even if they missed the chance to give Gordon Hayward the super-max, they weren’t extending Favors at an excessive cost.
Scoring in the NBA is moving further away from the basket. There isn’t room for two near-max players who spend the majority of their time manning the paint. Favors shot 77 percent of his shots inside 16 feet, while the Jazz played their best basketball with Joe Johnson stretching the floor with his 41 percent three-point shot.
Despite the downturn in demand for back-to-the-basket big men, a healthy Favors is a player every team would want, but he’s not what every team needs at the price tag he is after – particularly the Jazz.
His injury-plagued 2016-17 season made it difficult to work on an extension midseason. Both parties tried and failed to get close to contracts being signed.
Despite the lack of an extension, Favors trusts his ability to rebound from a 50-game season where he averaged only 9.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks.
Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey isn’t as confident, telling the Salt Lake Tribune:
"“His best attribute going forward is availability.”"
No matter how powerful, skillful, or integral Favors is to a team’s performance, he didn’t impact 32 regular season games this year while sitting in the stands.
With questions surrounding whether or not Favors and Gobert can coexist on the court, the agent of the 6-foot-10 power forward, Wallace Prather, is cognizant of his client’s contract limitations:
"“Utah’s paid Rudy [Gobert] $100 million, and Rudy deserves every cent of that contract. They are going to have to pay Gordon a max contract, and he deserves every cent. It’s going to be difficult to commit to a $300 million frontcourt.”"
Their on-court chemistry has become null and void due to the Jazz’s inability — and all-around reluctance — to commit so much of their salary cap to a midrange scorer coming off an injury.
The structure of a team’s salary cap doesn’t accommodate an inordinate amount of expensive bigs in today’s NBA.
With one foot already out of Vivint Smart Home Arena, the question now is, how and when does he leave?
Favors insinuated in an interview with Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune that he’s preparing his body over the coming months to play wherever he opens the season:
"“Everyone knows I love Utah, and I love playing for the Jazz, but I have to prepare myself this offseason to have a great year, whatever city I’m in.”"
There’s no question the Jazz will be helping him get back to his dominant ways. Free from injuries, Favors was averaging 16.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game on 51 percent shooting during the 2015-16 season.
With his current basement level trade value, the front office will be conscious of the trade deadline. After arriving in Utah as a 19-year-old from the then New Jersey Nets, the Jazz have spent six years nurturing his talent and will want to see a return for their time and effort.
The likelihood of Favors being traded before the beginning of the 2017-18 season is unknown, but if he does take the court in a Jazz uniform again, fans had better enjoy it.
Next: 5 potential landing spots for Gordon Hayward in free agency
The Jazz made their decision: Gobert is the frontcourt’s future, with Favors soon to be a thing of the past.