Utah Jazz: Three reasons for and against keeping Derrick Favors

The Jazz desperately need a stretch-four

This aspect somewhat ties into the latter point but let’s dive into it a little deeper, shall we? Forget the potential awkward fit surrounding Favors, because, as I mentioned, I believe it could be completely mitigated if the Jazz had a shooting point guard instead of Ricky Rubio. Favors and Gobert have had brilliant moments together that would be helped significantly if Utah’s floor general could put more pressure on opposing defenses.

In that light, it’s easy to see how the Jazz could keep Favors and allow him to continue to be a beast as the starting four and backup five.

But we’re not here to talk about reasons to keep Favors – not yet anyway – so let’s look at another argument as to why Utah’s best bet may be to simply move on. That reason entails a type of player the Jazz have long coveted – a stretch-four power forward.

Ever since Quin Snyder came to Utah, it’s been anything but a secret that his offense functions best with a power forward who can convert from deep, giving the offense more options and space to operate. A couple trade deadlines ago when the Jazz were purportedly going pretty hard after Nikola Mirotic of, at the time, the Chicago Bulls, Dennis Lindsey made it clear then and in the ensuing summer that the team was interested in adding a playmaking four.

The logic for such is clear. Not only have big men of that disposition become highly coveted in today’s NBA, but adding such a player would add a completely new dynamic to the Jazz offense. At times, Jae Crowder has been able to slip into that role and his effectiveness at that spot has produced some of Utah’s very best lineups in terms of net rating over the past two years.

However, with Crowder we’re talking about a guy who has shot no better than 33.1 percent from three the past two seasons and is about as streaky as they come. If instead of relying on him, the Jazz had a bona fide stretch-four in their starting lineup, they could really be a more tantalizing force to be dealt with for the entirety of games.

And if Utah were somehow able to come across such a player and add him to their midst, suddenly there wouldn’t be any room left for Favs. He’s already playing far fewer minutes than he deserves, and if a fitting stretch-four were brought in to take the starting place, it wouldn’t make much sense to pay Derrick nearly $17 million to log 17ish minutes per game behind Gobert.

In other words, as great as Favors has been for Utah, there’s a strong argument to be had that Utah’s most dire need is a stretch-four. If they’re able to upgrade or add at that position, it would likely no longer be prudent to keep D-Favs around.