Derrick Favors has no illusions about his future with the Utah Jazz.
He knows there might not be one.
Per The Salt Lake Tribune‘s Tony Jones:
Favors and [agent Wallace] Prather have done the math. They know the possibility of a trade exists this summer or at the trade deadline in February. …
“Utah’s paid Rudy [Gobert] $100 million,” Prather told The Tribune. “And Rudy deserves every cent of that contract. They are going to have to pay Gordon a max contract, and he deserves every cent. It’s going to be difficult to commit to a $300 million dollar frontcourt.
“We’re not upset at all,” the agent added. “This is just the business side of things, and this is just the reality of where we’re at.”
This all comes back to Gordon Hayward. His own free agency has a trickle-down effect.
If he stays, the Jazz will most likely pay what it takes to re-sign George Hill and Joe Ingles. Conservatively, Hill and Ingles should cost the Jazz $35 million combined next season. Add in a $30.3 million max salary for Hayward, and the Jazz are at $131 million in salary commitments. And should they retain Boris Diaw (non-guaranteed), Raul Neto (non-guaranteed) and each of their two first-round picks, they’re looking at $140-plus million payroll that could very easily creep into $150 million territory depending on how much Ingles and Hill cost, in addition to whether the Jazz use whichever mid-level exception, taxpayer or non, they’re eligible to spend.
In the event everyone comes back, Favors seems destined to become collateral damage. He’s slated for free agency in 2018, and the Jazz already have Gobert on a hefty extension. Rodney Hood and Dante Exum are both eligible for extensions this summer.
Life in Utah is about to get very expensive. And regardless of how it happens, via trade or his own free agency, it doesn’t feel like Favors will be around much longer. As his agent said, this is the “reality of where” both the Jazz and Favors are at.
