Utah Jazz trade Derrick Favors to Oklahoma City Thunder for a future second-round pick

The Utah Jazz have agreed to trade big man Derrick Favors and a future first-round decide to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2027 second-round decide and money issues, the staff introduced on Friday. The transfer provides one more draft decide to the Thunder’s arsenal over the subsequent couple years, whereas the Jazz avoid wasting cash as Favors is owed almost $20 million over the subsequent two years. 

Oklahoma Metropolis now has 13 first-round picks over the subsequent 5 drafts that they’ve acquired by buying and selling gamers similar to Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Paul George. Since buying and selling away George and Westbrook, the Thunder have change into the staff that different franchises work with to dump contracts they now not need by attaching a pair draft picks to it. Again in June, that is what occurred when the Boston Celtics traded Kemba Walker and the No. 16 decide in Thursday evening’s draft for Al Horford who was shipped to OKC from Philadelphia this yr. 

The Thunder have managed to stockpile draft picks, and have helped the gamers who get despatched to their basketball limbo restore their picture across the league and land elsewhere, the perfect instance being Paul. For Favors, this might go one among two methods. The Thunder might resolve to maintain him for the season earlier than his participant possibility comes up in 2022, in hopes that his worth goes as much as get a greater draft decide for him. Or Oklahoma Metropolis might resolve to reroute Favors to a different staff and flip him for one more decide, or maybe a younger participant. 

For the Jazz, This brings them to $13 million under the posh tax, which will probably be necessary to recollect after they try to re-sign guard Mike Conley who’s an unrestricted free agent this summer season. Previous to this commerce, any deal to convey again Conley — now an All-Star — would’ve put Utah over the posh tax, who could command $20-22 million, based on ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Getting Favors contract off the books now softens the monetary blow a little bit bit if Conley returns.