Brooklyn Nets: 3 picks from the 2010s we wish would have worked out
By Zane Harris
Brooklyn Nets draft picks we wish worked out: 1. Derrick Favors
With the second overall pick of the 2010 NBA draft, the New Jersey Nets selected Derrick Favors from Georgia Tech.
Coming into the league, he was seen as an explosive athlete with an insane wingspan. The only major gripe anyone had with Favors coming into the league was that he was still a bit slim. Scouts compared him to an athletic Al Horford who at the time was an All-NBA level talent.
Favors only lasted 56 games with the Nets before he was traded from the team to the Utah Jazz.
The deal sent Favors, Devin Harris, two first-round picks, and cash considerations to the Jazz in return for All-Star point guard Deron Williams.
Williams was one of the best at his position during this time and it was not seen as a bad trade for the Nets at the time.
However, Favors has gone on to have a very lengthy and successful career in the league.
He is listed as second in his draft class in win shares, putting him in front of players like Demarcus Cousins, John Wall, and Gordon Hayward. Favors falls only behind Paul George in that class in career win shares.
If he would have stayed on the Nets, Favors could have been a very quality nine-year starter at the power forward/center position and today could still be a solid big man to come off of the bench.
It would have been interesting to see Favors’ career play out in Brooklyn and what the franchise would have done to build around him if he was not traded to Utah.