Utah Jazz: If not Derrick Favors, then who?

 The Utah Jazz have a few large decisions looming this off-season. First and foremost, the decision to re-sign Power Forward Derrick Favors or not.

The Utah Jazz are on the precipice of becoming a long-term playoff contender, and if they play their cards right, they could even push the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors in the West. This off-season could turn out to be one of the most important in Jazz history, as they will be making decisions on whether to retain multiple players.

Derrick Favors and Raul Neto are both unrestricted free agents. Donte Exum is a restricted free agent, and Utah has team options on Thabo Sefolosha, Ekpe Udoh, and Jonas Jerebko.

The question I always ask myself when thinking about whether or not to retain a certain player is: If not him, then who? That is a big question the Jazz are going to be facing with Derrick Favors.

The Jazz were able to prove this last season that the combination of Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert can actually be quite effective in spurts. While sharing the floor together, Utah had an offensive rating of 105.2. During the Playoffs though, their offensive rating when sharing the floor actually jumped up to 114.

To put those numbers into context, during the regular season the Utah Jazz had an offensive rating of 106.2, which was good for 15th in the NBA. So offensively, the Jazz typically have at least an average offense when Gobert and Favor share the floor.

Looking at the entire season doesn’t tell the whole story though. When the Jazz went on their improbable second half surge, Favors and Gobert were one of the best duos in the NBA. When they were both on the floor, the Jazz outscored opponents by  an incredible 17.1 points per 100 possessions.

Their defense was also elite. As a team, Utah had a 101.6 defensive rating during the regular season. Gobert and Favors had a 98 defensive rating over the course of the entire season, but that number improved to a whopping 95 points per 100 possessions from January 24th on.

An added benefit to having both Favors and Gobert on the roster is that Quin Snyder can essentially split their minutes. They will play the first few minutes of each half together, but after that, they can alternate. Which means that the Jazz can have a full 48-minutes with a defensive presence to protect the rim.

Favors’ numbers aren’t going to jump off the page (12.3 points, 7.2 rebounds), but he has become an integral part of this team, and helps the Jazz to maintain their defensive identity.

Still, many people believe that the better fit for the Jazz would be a stretch-four. Someone who can shoot the corner three more consistently, which will provide more space for Rubio and Mitchell to operate, and could also create more lob opportunities for Gobert.

I’ll reiterate the question I posed earlier, though — If not Favors, then who?

The most appealing are going to be younger restricted free agents, who may be outside of Utah’s price range to go after. Theoretically, the Jazz could allow Favors to walk in free agency, decline the team options for Sefolosha, Udoh, and Jerebko, and then look to trade Alec Burks. Doing all that would free up roughly 20 million for the Jazz to target a higher level free agent.

If the Jazz do just that, some young restricted free agents they could target are Aaron Gordon, Jabari Parker, and Julius Randle. While each of those players are appealing in their own right, as restricted free agents, the price might still be too high, as even if one of them accepts an offer-sheet with the Jazz, their current teams can match the offer to retain them.

Personally, I am high on each of those three players. They would each bring a unique talent to the Jazz, and it would be hard to pass up on the opportunity to obtain any of them.

Due to his ties to the LDS church, Jabari Parker is high on many Jazz fans’ list. When healthy, he can be an elite scorer on the offensive end. During the 2016-17 season, Parker averaged 20 points, six rebounds, and three assists per game, while also shooting 36 percent from three. Emphasis on “when healthy” though, as he has missed two seasons due to knee injuries.

My personal favorite, would be Aaron Gordon. On offense, he has shown flashes of great versatility as a ball handler and as a shooter. Last season he started the year on fire from three. From the start of the year to December 31st, Gordon shot 41 percent from three. Through the end of the season though, he shot only 27 percent. If he can consistently shoot in between those two extremes, that would be a great pick up.

Due to his athleticism, he is also a very capable defender. Especially when switched onto guards. He has terrific lateral movement, and can defend in space. If Utah were to replace Derrick Favors with Aaron Gordon, I don’t believe they would be sacrificing much on the defensive end, and they would be getting a player with a higher offensive upside.

The biggest thing with all three of these players, is they have never been in a situation to succeed. With Utah, they would be joining one of the better culture teams in the league, and they would have better coaching.

Let’s say that due to the price tag, none of those players are available — Now what?

There are still intriguing options available, but you have to ask yourself if they are really going to bring much more to the table than Favors. The next three on the list who seem like a possibility are Mario Hezonja, Thaddeus Young, and Luc Mbah a Moute.

I am a fan of Hezonja, but I don’t like the idea of him as your full-time four. If Utah were to bring him in, it would likely be with the thought that Jae Crowder and Hezonja could share time filling that roll. He had a breakout season last year though, and some of his best minutes were played at the power forward position. He also had a positive Defensive Win Shares, and Defensive Box Plus/Minus.

Neither Young nor Mbah a Moute move the needle much for me. They are solid players, but by the start of next season they will both be on the wrong side of 30, and I’d prefer Favors if they are the lone options.

The final question that we haven’t gone over is, what does Derrick Favors want? In an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune, Favors said:

"I want to be here,” Favors told The Salt Lake Tribune in an interview on Saturday night. “I love my teammates, I love the organization. This is where I grew up. At the same time, I know that if I’m going to be here, there are certain sacrifices that I’m going to have to make. So, I just have to wait and see how things work out when the time comes.”"

Next: Utah Jazz: You too can be Ricky Rubio chic (but his teammates won’t)

Derrick Favors seems to enjoy playing in Utah, and for the most part, he has been a positive for the Jazz organization. The Jazz will be making many difficult decisions this off-season, and deciding on whether to keep Favors around or not may be one of the most difficult. I don’t envy the Jazz front office and the upcoming decisions they have to make.

In the end, I don’t believe there is an option out there that makes sense both financially and fit wise for the Jazz. So if Favors wants to be here, I expect he will be back next season.