Derrick Favors refutes notion that he’s unwilling to re-sign with Utah Jazz

Derrick Favors, who reportedly informed the Utah Jazz that he didn’t intend to re-sign for next season, took to Twitter Saturday night to refute that notion.

With the NBA trade deadline quickly approaching, there’s been a number of Utah Jazz players that have been announced as thoroughly on the trade block. Although any sort of trade report should be viewed as speculation until transactions are finalized, some are typically more believable and widely accepted than others.

And in the case of the Utah Jazz, the notion that has been perhaps the most accepted is that Derrick Favors is on the block and the most likely of any Jazzman to be moved prior to the deadline. Along with questions regarding his fit alongside Rudy Gobert and Ricky Rubio, several reports have also indicated that Favors does not intend to re-sign with the Jazz anyhow, meaning that Utah would be much better off trading him for something in return rather than just losing him for nothing during his impending unrestricted free agency.

That’s been so widely accepted that Favors has become the token guy to be brought up in prospective trade proposals for the Jazz and it feels like nearly every Jazz fan has already “accepted the fact” that Derrick won’t be playing in Utah next season.

However, if the man himself is to be believed, fans may need to pump the breaks on their assumptions.

Derrick Favors is rarely a man of many words on social media, in fact, here at TheJNotes.com, we once dubbed him the king of cryptic tweets. But when he does hit Twitter, it’s usually with something that gets a rise out of his fans. On Saturday night, he did just that.

It all started when a fan tweeted at Favors asking him about the notion that he has given his word to the Jazz front office that he does not intend to re-sign:

This feels like a tweet that the typically tight-lipped Favors would just glaze over and ignore. But such was not the case. Instead, Favors had the following to say in response:

That blunt answer certainly turns things upside down. Perhaps Favors is aiming to maintain a good look for his fans, but I have a hard time believing he’d go out of his way to dispute a report unless he was actually telling the truth in his tweet. If Favors would indeed be open to re-signing in Utah, it could potentially change some things for the Jazz.

Then again, it might not. As much as I love Derrick Favors and would be sad to see him go, it seems that whether or not he’s willing to stay in Utah isn’t exactly the question, it’s more a matter of fit and filling a need. Favors and Gobert together feels redundant as Derrick has proven more suited for the center position and the Jazz likely wouldn’t want to extend him the hefty salary raise he’s going to demand next season when they could instead use that cash on a more vital need.

If the Favors-Gobert combo was excelling, the Jazz would probably be open to keeping him on board. He’s been nothing but hard-working, determined and professional during his time in Utah and is certainly a fan favorite of many, including Jazz brass, I’m sure. However, that combo simply hasn’t worked well for the Jazz.

Some blame the Favors-Gobert issues not on that duo, but on the trio that is formed with Ricky Rubio, a reputed poor shooter, in action as well. But with Rubio under contract for another season and the redundancy at the center spot being an issue, it seems more likely that Utah would look to deal Favors over Rubio.

Still, this is an interesting development because the whole “he’s definitely going to leave so he must be traded to avoid losing him for nothing” notion may not exactly be true. Derrick’s shown nothing but loyalty to Utah in the past, so perhaps there have been incorrect assumptions made about his intentions of leaving.

Even so, it’s still not likely that he is back in a Jazz uniform next season because fit and salary are probably more the issues here than a desire to retain him. If there was more time to experiment with lineups, if Favors and Gobert started to show some promise together and if Utah felt comfortable that they could get Derrick at a good bargain this summer, there’s likely a chance something could be worked out.

Yet, none of those three things are very probable, so Favors’ return shouldn’t be considered probable either.

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Regardless of what comes of Favors in the coming weeks, this tweet at the very least has me stoked that he’s not itching to get out the door as seems to be too often the case with players on the Jazz roster. And if he is moved, I wish him nothing but the best of luck as he’s been one of my favorite Jazzmen since he joined the team.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, maybe Derrick’s own words will hold true above all the speculation. Perhaps he’s indeed open to re-signing and the Jazz will be willing to give it a go. I find it unlikely, but I suppose you never know. Having a desire to stay and play in small-market Utah is a trait that isn’t often overlooked.

Therefore, Favors’ fate at this point is truly anybody’s guess. With less than two weeks remaining until the trade deadline, though, I suppose we’ll all have a better idea quite soon.