Revisiting implications of Derrick Favors trade between OKC Thunder, Utah Jazz
On July 30, 2021, the Jazz traded a future first-round pick and veteran center Derrick Favors to the Thunder for a future second-round pick.
The deal was nothing more than a salary dump for Utah, which had to give OKC a draft pick as a sweetener for taking on Favors’ contract.
The Jazz coveted financial flexibility as a presumed NBA title contender, and the Thunder was thrilled to collect another pick.
Fast forward 400 days. Rudy Gobert is a Timberwolf. Donovan Mitchell is a Cavalier. Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley are on the trading block. Quin Snyder is no longer the coach. Danny Ainge is the CEO in Salt Lake City.
How quickly things change in the NBA.
Having negotiated offseason trades of Gobert to Minnesota and Mitchell to Cleveland, Ainge and general manager Justin Zanik have pulled alongside Thunder boss Sam Presti in the Draft Capital Grand Prix.
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The Thunder has 15 first-round picks over the next seven years. Nine of those are unprotected — seven of OKC’s own picks, plus two unprotected picks via the Clippers.
The Jazz, over that same seven-year period, has 14 first-rounders. All but one is unprotected.
San Antonio and Houston are other Western Conference rebuilders that have amassed piles of picks, but Oklahoma City and Utah are in a league of their own.
But placing the Thunder and Jazz side-by-side isn’t fair to either franchise.
The Thunder is two drafts into its rebuild. Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren, Ousmane Dieng and Jalen Williams were all lottery selections — early fruits of a new era in OKC.
Meanwhile, the dust is still settling from the Jazz’s demolition. Utah hasn’t one cornerstone in place. OKC might already have three, depending how you view Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey and Holmgren.
Utah has caught OKC in the picks race, but the Thunder has a multi-lap advantage in the rebuilding marathon.
The Jazz’s teardown certainly gives the Thunder more competition, though, in its picks-focused strategy. For a while, it seemed like Presti was playing his own game. Now other GMs have joined. Draft picks are being swapped like trading cards.
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Which brings us back to that Favors trade from Utah to Oklahoma City. Favors, by the way, is still on the Thunder’s roster. He’s due $10.2 million this season on an expiring contract.
The pick Utah sent to OKC in the Favors’ trade is top-10 protected in 2024. If Utah’s pick falls from No. 11 to No. 30, it conveys to Oklahoma City.
The Jazz, which seemed poised to compete for the next several years, will likely keep that pick. It’s hard to imagine Utah not being a bottom-10 team in 2024.
If the pick doesn't convey to the Thunder in 2024, it moves back to 2025 with the same top-10 protections. Who knows where the league will be by then, but there’s a chance the Jazz will still be amid its rebuild.
The pick is top-eight protected in 2026 if it still hasn’t conveyed. The Thunder needs the Jazz to be competitive by then, because that’s when the Favors trade runs out. If Utah lands a top-eight pick in 2026, the Jazz keeps its pick and OKC’s hope of getting a first for Favors dissolves.
Odds are the Jazz pick will convey to the Thunder in one of those three years, but the trades of Gobert and Mitchell have certainly dampened OKC’s odds.
It’s just one of a dozen-plus picks OKC and Utah have to think about.
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Thunder first-round NBA draft picks
2023: Own (right to swap with Clippers)
2024: Own, Clippers (unprotected), Rockets (top-four protected), Jazz (top-10 protected)
2025: Own (right to swap with Clippers and Rockets; top-10 protected), 76ers (top-six protected), Heat (lottery-protected)
2026: Own, Clippers (unprotected), Rockets (top-four protected)
2027: Own, Nuggets (top-five protected)
2028: Own
2029: Own
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Derrick Favors trade impact for OKC Thunder, Utah Jazz in NBA Draft
