Utah Jazz: Will New Forward Derrick Favors Become a Journeyman?

As most of you know, the Utah Jazz made a deal early Wednesday that sent All-Star point guard Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets for guard Devin Harris, 2010 third overall pick Derrick Favors, two first-round picks and cash considerations.

However, one of the main pieces of this puzzle is the aforementioned Favors.

Favors, a rookie out of Georgia Tech, was taken by the Nets with the third overall selection in last year's draft.

A McDonald's All-American, Favors was a one-and-done player at Georgia Tech. He is just currently 19 years old, so he has a lot of time to get better.

The only question is: When is that going to happen?

Anyway, to be selected that high in the draft, he must have some talent, right? We'll see.

It's hard to see as to why owner Mikhail Prokhorov traded Favors; was it because Favors wasn't fitting into their long term plans? Was it because he was just a trade chip that had to be included? Or was it because Favors just wasn't that good of a player to begin with?

Since Favors was selected, his name has been subject to trade rumors. His name has been linked to the Carmelo Anthony deal since September at least.

Where there was a Nets trade rumor, Favors was there.

But to me, it just doesn't make sense to trade a high-profile pick that has hardly played. Breaking down his stats, Favors only started 23 games for the Nets, averaging 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in almost 20 minutes per outing.

Why would you want to just practically give up on such a young player? Well, I may be acting a little too mean.

The most likely scenario of the three I mentioned earlier is probably the second one: Favors having to be a trade chip.

Personally, I don't think that the Nets gave up on Favors. Sometimes, in the NBA, you have to part with people, no matter who they are, to get players you want.

That's where Favors comes in.

He's got all the potential in the world, but the Nets just wanted Williams—that made Favors expendable. In order to get what you want, you have to give up something, whether it be time, money or in this case, players.

I'm sure that there has been thoughts running through Jazz fans' heads, saying, "If the Nets traded a rookie, there's got to be something wrong with him, right?"

The Jazz wouldn't have traded for Favors for no reason. There must be somebody in the front office that wanted his services. He would have had to have shown something for the Jazz to accept the trade.

But another question remains: With Favors coming to the Salt Lake City, what happens to forwards Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson?

More than likely, one, if not two, will be dealt at the trade deadline to make room for Favors. He wasn't receiving much time in New Jersey, where there is not enough frontcourt players.

Now, in Utah, there seems to be an abundance and I doubt the Jazz are going to keep all four players.

Just hours removed from the Williams trade, there's one more question.

Will Favors spend an ample amount of time in Utah?

He's just 19 years old, so he's got a myriad amount of time left in his young NBA career. But if he's traded at such a young age and is still a rookie, what will happen in the future?

Frankly, it depends on how Favors plays for the Jazz.

If he shows that he is one of the best players in the draft, he will more than likely stay in Utah for a few years. But if he shows that he's another Darko or Olowakandi, he'll get dealt more than Marcus Camby.

The Jazz players don't even know what to think. Brian Smith, of the Salt Lake City Tribune, stated, "Jazz players had same take about new teammate Favors that many scouts, execs, fans do: They don't know what to think."

There is some truth behind that statement. As of now, we don't really know what to think.

Favors has to play well if he wants to remain in Utah. And for that to work, someone is going to have to get traded.

As of right now, he would probably get less than the 20 minutes per game he received in New Jersey.

If all four players remain in Utah, it only seems inevitable for Favors to be traded once again in the near future.

Favors has potential. Every player has some type of potential, but in Favor's case, he has a lot of it. The third overall pick, the forward is considered by many to possibly be one of, if not the best, player in the draft—better than John Wall, Evan Turner, Wesley Johnson and DeMarcus Cousins.

He's as athletic as they come, which is one of the main reasons he was taken so high in the draft.

But can his athleticism translate to the NBA like it did at Georgia Tech? Only time will tell.

For Favors to be considered a "journeyman," in my opinion, he would have to be dealt (or sign) at least five different times.

At such a young age, that is entirely possible. As stated above, he's only 19. So, he's got a lot of time left, which means there's enough time to play for one-sixth of the NBA teams.

The NBA has shown us that it is full of surprises—I mean, not many people anticipated Devin Harris to be traded to the Jazz.

Portland and Dallas seemed to be the main contenders for him, but at the last minute, the Jazz swooped in and gobbled him up for themselves.

Favors may be a good or great player in this league, but just because you play well, doesn't mean you won't play for a few different teams.

I don't think he will spend his entire career in Utah. I'm thinking there will be another trade in a couple of years. And then another after that. And another. And so on and so on.

So, in my opinion, yes, I think he will be a journeyman. He won't be a bad player, but he will get traded. He's a valuable trade chip and will more than likely still be that in a couple of seasons.

Personally, I think that Favors will be 15-point, seven-rebound player in this league.

Those aren't horrible numbers, but they are enough to be considered a "middle-of-the-pack" player.

Becoming one of those types of players, I believe that we will see Favors on quite a few teams throughout his NBA career.