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The Utah Jazz have traded Derrick Favors to the Oklahoma City Thunder for financial flexibility.
The Utah Jazz have agreed to trade C Derrick Favors and a future first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a future second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Jazz create some financial flexibility and Thunder grab another first-rounder.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 30, 2021
The news came through late last night after the draft from Shams Charania and Tony Jones but we didn’t see the details till this morning.
The Utah Jazz are in serious talks on a deal to send center Derrick Favors to the Oklahoma City Thunder, sources tell me and @Tjonesonthenba.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 30, 2021
It’s a tough pill to swallow for a team that just had a fantastic draft with their pick of Jared Butler from Baylor. One small consolation from the Athletic piece is that the pick is top-ten protected.
This move does create real flexibility for the Jazz who have now saved roughly $40 Million with the deal and makes a Mike Conley signing not seem so expensive.
Essentially, trading Favors like this saves Ryan Smith $40 million in cash. That they felt they had to do it reflects just how ugly last season’s offseason was… they’ve now spent just a bonkers amount of draft capital on the backup center position.
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) July 30, 2021
The move also gives the Jazz a trade exception that could help in roster building this offseason.
Utah will also create a $9.7M trade exception. https://t.co/2QV5F4lBAK
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 30, 2021
It was nice to see Derrick Favors in a Jazz uniform, but the price tag was incredibly high for Favors who seemed to struggle with lingering injuries that hampered him for long stretches of the year. There was hope among Jazz fans that the 2nd round picks they had acquired last night in the draft might be usable to get off the salary but that wasn’t the case.
With the pick conveying likely in 2024 the Jazz have a 3-year window for a shot at the title if they can get Mike Conley signed, which sounds likely from multiple accounts.
I would also just like to say that even though the price tag was high, and the reunion didn’t go as fans (and I’m sure the Jazz) had hoped, it was a pleasure to root for Derrick Favors on the Jazz for another season. Favors will always be a fan favorite and gave everything he had while he was on the court. The Oklahoma City Thunder got a good one in Favors and he’ll be a great locker room presence for a team that could use some veteran mentorship.