Derrick Favors finds home-- in Utah, as in Atlanta.

[Stifle Tower]

Huh, I didn't get that at all. And unlike Katner, he's not a bitch.

“I didn't expect to stay (long term), no,” Favors says, more than four years after the trade and two years after he signed a four-year contract extension with the Jazz. “Utah was so different, I was so new to it. I didn't expect to stay.

“But as the years have gone on, I've grown to love it. I got used to it. I just started feeling comfortable,” he says. “I like how calm and chill it is in Utah. It's a good thing and it's a bad thing. The bad part is, maybe after a big game you want to go out and hang out or whatever, and there's really not too many spots like that in Utah. Down here, you could go anywhere. Out in Utah, it's chill, laid-back. There's not a lot of rah-rah stuff going on. You can focus on your job, your career, whatever else you have going on....”

Then there are the fans.

“I didn't believe it until I got there,” Favors says. “We have season-ticket holder events and fan events, and they show up huge, maybe 20,000 show up. It makes you want to play for a team with how passionate the fans are. ... Maybe because the Jazz is the only team out there, fans, as soon as they're born, they're Jazz fans.”

Nice of Favors to recognize the fans. And now that he has twins, I think the desire to go out to a club after a game or on a weekend will be much less. He has responsibilities at home.

 

[karl malone]

As far as Favors being unlikely to re-sign when his contract expires: I don't understand how someone could possibly have read that article & come away with that conclusion. He was very vocal about how the trade rumors in NJ/BKN (that started basically immediately after he was drafted) affected him & made him feel unwanted. Him being traded for a (at the time) superstar was obviously a clear signal to him that the acquiring team wanted him. Not receiving significant playing time in the beginning of his tenure here likely raised some doubt in his mind, but allowing two fringe all-star caliber talents to walk in order for him to start & rewarding him with a large contact extension undoubtedly restored any damage that had been done (if not increase his sense of appreciation/feeling wanted).

His quiet, low-maintenance demeanor (as well as his personality in general) suggests that security, loyalty, & sense of comfort are important to him. The only way I see him leaving Utah is if the team gives him a reason to (which is highly unlikely) or it's the team's decision. The only place I could see him leaving via FA to is Atlanta (due to his obvious commitment to family), but I would even be shocked at that. As far as I can tell, in his mind (as well as the mind of the FO), he is a Jazz man for life (barring unforseen circumstances).

 

[karl malone]

"A big part of Derrick is he sees himself as an offensive player,” Lindsey says. “He had some arguments — maybe he had a point, not an argument — that, 'Hey, I'm going to improve. I'm going to get better on the block, and my jumper's going to get better.' And to be frank, he has. And he worked toward that, and there's no reason why we can't extend his range even more. We'll find out a few years from now exactly where those limits are at.”

This was another sentence that stood out to me. The part about having an argument regarding his offensive development (as well as his shooting range) is extremely intriguing (as is the: "We'll find out a few years from now exactly where those limits are at"). This (along with draft Lyles) appears to validate the belief that QS/DL want a stretch big on the roster. Favors certainly seems to have the shooting form & work-ethic to extend his range out to the 3-pt line. It will be interesting to see how that plays out over the next few years.

 

[Stoked]

Stupid comment which earns a very rare neg rep from me. So we let Jeremy Evans go. I'm sure he'll help Dallas win a chip. And Kanter at $16M would have been such a bargain, especially by keeping Rudy on the bench.

Oh, I suppose you are referring to Millsap, DMC and Jefferson. OK, mistake made on DMC. But I challenge you to look at his stats his last season in Utah. Nothing special. He developed in Atlanta under Quin. Without Snyder, DMC likely remains a backup. Millsap and Jefferson? Yes, choices had to be made: Favors and Kanter did not want to be backups any longer.

When it comes to developing talent I look at who we drafted and if they stayed.

Hayward - re-signed
Favors - re-signed
Kanter - traded
Evans - re-signed once before becoming a free agent
Burks - re-signed
Ingles - re-signed
So in the last 5 years the Jazz have resigned all but one of their draft picks/rookies that actually made the team and come up for a new contract. Farm team indeed.

 

[Stifle Tower]

Also, the Kanter situation is very similar to what happened with Green/Stockton. Well, except for the fact Green was actually a gentleman and never attacked the team, management and fans.

Green had been an all-star, but it was clear Stockton was going to be something special. So they had to make room for John to be the starter. Kanter had put up some good numbers, but it's clear Gobert will be something special. So Kanter had to go.

What happens next season with our #1 pick? Does he push Millsap or a PG off the roster? If we develop a few guys who become role players for other teams, that's not a bad thing. It just hopefully means we replaced them with even better players. Or, that we just couldn't afford to keep everyone.

 

[Lakers_Slapper]

It's clear he doesn't want to be in Utah and wants to go back to GA. We need to offload him now for a bag of chips before his value goes down and those chips get stale.

Do you ______ realize that a majority of NBA players don't reside in the same state that they play in? The average NBA player plays for less than 8 years in the NBA of which is traded at an average of more than twice during that time frame. Why build a house in the city you play for when you'll more than likely be traded? Just buy a house where you want and when you get traded or resign, your at least happy and providing roots for your family?