Derrick Favors: The New Franchise Flavor for the Utah Jazz
In return for trading All-Star point guard Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets, the Utah Jazz received veteran guard Devin Harris, two future first-round draft picks (which they used to select Enes Kanter in the 2011 draft) and prized rookie big man Derrick Favors.
Favors, who spent only one year at Georgia Tech, is a 6'0", 10-inch power forward, who may be one of the next big-time players in the near future.
Coming into the draft this year, Favors was ranked as the top athlete, even though he was selected third overall and heading to New Jersey. With the Carmelo Anthony trade talks looming for most of the 2010-11 NBA season, once Favors got to New Jersey he continuously faced questions about whether he was going to stay in New Jersey for the season or end up in Denver.
Since being dealt to Utah, along with veteran guard Devin Harris, Favors can now focus on basketball and finding his niche with this Jazz squad. Favors has shown the ability to rebound, be a defensive presence and very energetic player and finish strong at the basket. One area where he needs to improve is at the free-throw line, where he struggled during his rookie season.
The thing to remember with Favors is that he is only 19 years old and will need time to expand his game in order to see what kind of player he can eventually become. Whether he is a future All-Star caliber power forward or a bench guy, it is way too early to tell right now.
During the first half of the season with the New Jersey Nets, Favors averaged 6.3 points per game and 5.3 rebounds in 56 games. After the trade to Utah on February, 24, 2011, he averaged 8.2 points per game and 5.2 rebounds in the remaining 22 games of the 2010-11 NBA season. (See figure below.)
Derrick Favors, 2010-11 NBA Season Statistics
New Jersey Nets: 6.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG
Utah Jazz: 8.3 PPG and 5.2 RPG
Favors played better after coming to Utah, which may be due to the fact that he was given playing time. Towards the end of the season, he seemed to play well alongside Gordon Hayward, the other Jazz youngster.
This upcoming season it will be interesting to see what the Jazz do about their crowded frontcourt. They did draft Enes Kanter of Turkey, who was declared ineligible by the NCAA at the University of Kentucky. He is listed as a center and will most likely play alongside Favors and Hayward.
At the end of the day, the Jazz have two solid pieces for their future in Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward—and possibly one more “veteran” in C.J. Miles. They also currently have some other big men on their roster, such as Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, who may be either moved or kept depending on their development.
