Derrick Favors returns to Utah Jazz on a 3-year contract

Derrick Favors is coming back to Utah after one year in New Orleans.

Derrick Favors was traded by the Utah Jazz after nearly a decade of service, but his one year with the New Orleans Pelicans left him with a severely reduced scoring load and a lack of postseason basketball. Yearning to return to his adopted home in Salt Lake City, Favors came back to the Jazz as soon as he could.

Tony Jones of The Athletic is reporting that Favors is coming back to Utah after his sabbatical in New Orleans, as he has agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal.

Derrick Favors is a reliable big man that can rebound and play defense

Favors was originally hailed as a future franchise cornerstone with the Nets after they picked him third overall in the 2010 NBA Draft out of Georgia Tech, but the 19-year-old was traded to Utah in the deal that brought All-Star point guard Deron Williams to New Jersey. Favors never became a star in Utah, but his 12.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game show that he’s become a solid starting power forward/small-ball center in this league.

Favors averaged 9.0 points and 9.8 rebounds a night during his first and only season with the Pelicans following the trade in 2019. With Stan Van Gundy moving forward with a frontcourt centered around superstar second-year man Zion Williamson and promising rim-runner Jaxson Hayes, Favors was the odd man out.

Donovan Mitchell will once again be the straw that stirs the drink, but Favors is another solid, complementary piece that Utah will lean on in its quest to avoid the franchise’s recent playoff shortcomings. With Jordan Clarkson back on the bench and a veteran big that Snyder can trust in favors, the Jazz are getting the pieces they need to make another run toward the championship.