New Orleans Pelicans: 5 roster moves to make this offseason

2. Re-sign Derrick Favors

Derrick Favors was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans for a 2021 and 2023 second-round pick. To say that this was a steal is an understatement of the highest order. At 29, Favors still has plenty to offer for any team that needs a hard-working big man.

The problem for Favors when he was with the Utah Jazz was that he was playing alongside Rudy Gobert. Having two frontcourt players who cannot stretch the floor does not seem to be a workable model in today’s NBA.

However, in New Orleans, the Pelicans have Ingram who has become a tremendous 3-point shooter. They also have Williamson who is not afraid to shoot from deep and will only get better the longer that he is in the league.

https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA/status/1292541005720256513?s=20

Favors does not mind doing the dirty work under the basket. He’s made a career out of it. Last season, he averaged 9.0 points and 9.8 rebounds in just 24.4 minutes per game. This was Favors’ highest rebounding average of his career.

Part of this is that he is no longer playing beside Gobert, who was a rebounding machine. The other part is that Favors was given a role and he played it beautifully. He was able to average 3.2 offensive rebounds per game, which were a big part of his offensive production.

Favors only took 6.6 shot attempts per game, making 4.1 of them. This is good for a 61.7 field goal percentage. This is another career-high for the 10-year veteran. Despite the career highs for Favors, it is unlikely he will sign such a large deal again, especially with the Pelicans given the money they need to spend on Ingram.