Derrick Favors to the Suns?
By Lucas McLean
Tony Jones, reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune, recently reported that the Utah Jazz have put Derrick Favors on the trading block with the Phoenix Suns expressing interest in the big man.
Jones does describe the possibility of trading Favors however as “less likely” than Utah trading for Lou Williams, another popular rumor today. Although, Utah has entertained offers for Favors in the past. Favors is having a down season since coming back from a nagging knee injury, averaging 7 points less and playing 9 fewer minutes per game than last season where he averaged a career-high 16.4 points with 8.1 rebounds. This drop in production could lead to the Suns finding a way to pry Favors away from the Jazz with a lesser package than was possible in previous years.
Favors is listed as a power forward but over the past two seasons has played a majority of his time at center. With the rise of Rudy Gobert, and Trey Lyles progressing well, Derrick Favors might become the odd man out. For the Suns, this could indicate the end of either Tyson Chandler or Alex Len’s tenure in Phoenix as one of them would likely have to somehow be involved in the trade to prevent an unnecessary glut of centers on the roster.
There are a multitude of avenues Phoenix could work with to make this work financially – that is not the concern. The real question is what Utah would demand in return. The Jazz currently have one of the top defenses in the NBA, allowing the fewest points per game. They would likely not want to give up one of their best defenders without due compensation.
Utah could command a package of Alex Len and P.J. Tucker to even further solidify their defensive standing. In a trade for Favors, Len would become redundant for the Suns. Tucker’s trade value is slated as a late first-round or early second-round pick by most prognosticators meaning Phoenix would likely receive more in a trade involving Tucker for Favors than they would for a pick should Tucker not be involved in a package such as this one.
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If the Suns training staff can return Favors to his previous form, this could be a major trade for Phoenix.