During their loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Utah Jazz were reunited with an old friend in Derrick Favors. Seeing Favors in another jersey kind of rocked my world.
During the Utah Jazz’s Friday night bout with the New Orleans Pelicans, there was a veritable bonanza of internal storylines for the Jazzland masses to track. How would Rudy Gobert fare in his first action? Could Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic bounce back from their rocky debuts? Will Dante Exum or Emmanuel Mudiay ever play at all?
And yet, I’d wager that fans joined yours truly in allowing their thoughts to continually drift back to a guy who was wearing Pels gear and I’m not talking about No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson.
Of course, the Jazz were reunited on the hardwood with erstwhile alum Derrick Favors in the game and, man… did it look unnatural seeing him in another squad’s jersey or what?
It was like the worst kind of bad dream; one where your mom is your dad who is also Freddy Krueger and you’re naked in class and the robbers have broken into your house and — HOLD UP — Donald Trump is 300 feet tall and he’s eating the Moon like a piece of cheese!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Seriously though, we’re talking about a player who came to the Jazz as a lost pup; 19 years old and still finding his feet as a human, let alone as a basketball player. A guy who spent the better part of nine years in Salt Lake City and even spent offseasons in-town.
A player who, at one time, was considered the great hope of a franchise, or one of them anyway.
For the first time in a decade, that guy, our guy, was on the other side of the fence, actively working against our cause within the framework of competition, and it was gross.
Even Favors himself seems to yearn for the good ol’ days. While speaking with Jazz sideline reporter Kristen Kenney post-game, the big man called this whole experience weird/strange no less than five times in a 90-second interview. He also spoke to having to settle down and realize he’s on another team now.
Same goes for us, my dude.
Sure, this was ultimately just another preseason game with little bearing on what will happen with Favors and the Jazz this season. And, really, seeing former players is an almost weekly occurrence in this age of player movement and free agency.
This situation was different, though. Favors will never be just another in the long list of guys that used to play for the Jazz.
He grew up before our eyes, from a greenhorn that needed to work a little harder to a seasoned vet and the very definition of a professional. He came at a discount rate and sacrificed some of his best years in service of his team and the development of its cornerstone in Rudy Gobert. When Gordon whatshisname left, he stayed.
In an age where players get loud (for better or for worse), he was humble, thoughtful, quiet even.
Yeah, the situation was weird because Favors is weird…in the best possible way.
And it will never not be weird that he isn’t playing for the Jazz because he’s one of the rare guys that will be a Jazzman for life.