2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far
Derrick Favors: 2 years, $32 million (Utah Jazz)
Utah is re-signing Derrick Favors, a source told @TheUndefeated
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 2, 2018
Free agent Derrick Favors has agreed to a two-year, $36M-plus deal with the Utah Jazz, agent Wallace Prather tells Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2018
On the surface, $16 million a season to re-sign Derrick Favors seems like quite an overpay (it could reach up to $37 million in incentives, but the base is $32 million). He probably wasn’t seeing offers anywhere near that amount in annual salary on the open market, but the tradeoff for the Utah Jazz here is the second year is non-guaranteed, which balances things out nicely.
In essence, this is another one-year trial run for Favors and his fit with this on-the-rise Jazz squad. Despite his stout defense and the fact that he’s just entering his prime as he approaches his 27th birthday, Favors can’t spread the floor. There are lingering doubts about his long-term fit alongside Rudy Gobert in the frontcourt because of this crucial missing element to his game.
A deal like this gives the Jazz another year to examine their fit, hopefully with Favors and Gobert both staying healthy for once. Favors’ bounce-back year in 2017-18 entailed 12.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game on a career-high 56.3 percent shooting, so he can clearly be productive despite a reduced role. Now, Utah will need to examine the contracts of Jonas Jerebko or Ekpe Udoh if it wants to create more space, but for the time being, this is a worthwhile investment that does right by both parties.
Bourguet Grade: B+
Hoops Habit Grade: B+