Utah Jazz Trade Rumors: Derrick Favors, Rodney Hood

Utah Jazz Trade Rumors: Derrick Favors, Rodney Hood

The trade deadline is only about a week away. Names are being thrown out there, but who is a realistic target and what can the Jazz get for two solid players?

The trade deadline is only about a week away. Names are being thrown out there, but who is a realistic target and what can the Jazz get for two solid players?

We're past the midway point of the season and the Utah Jazz are on the outside looking in. Four games out of the playoff picture, and with the Ricky Rubio experiment on rocky footing, the Jazz are reportedly shopping multiple players before the trade deadline. Who is a pipe dream? What are some possible moves to be made? And is anyone going to give up something useful for Rodney Hood and his bite-sized contract?

Trade Bait

The two names which have been most commonly thrown out for trades are Derrick Favors and Rodney Hood. Both players are on expiring contracts, which makes them prime targets. Favors' price tag this year is an even $12 million while Hood is only a teeny-tiny $2.4 million (with a qualifying offer next year, meaning he's a restricted free agent this summer).

Teams want guys like this. 

Derrick Favors: Favors has been efficient this season, but he's a dying breed in the NBA. A 6'10, 250-pound interior player who can't shoot threes is trending out of the league. However, Favors has been good elsewhere, both with and without Rudy Gobert healthy. According to Synergy Sports, Favors has ranked in the 77th percentile in the NBA in scoring efficiency in the half-court, scoring just over 1.00 PPP (points per possession). 

Similarly, Favors is in the 70th percentile in the league on defense, allowing just 0.871 PPP. He has been particularly effective defending both parts of the pick and roll - a huge piece of almost every NBA offense - as he has stifled both the big man and the ball-handler on a regular basis. This is an enormously useful skill, and his proficiency is a reflection of both his skillset and Utah's overall defensive prowess.

Furthermore, according to Cleaning The Glass, opponents take fewer shots at the rim and more shots in the midrange against the Jazz when Favors is on the floor. This is usually great for a defense. The downside, however, is that spot-up shooters score a lot against Favors. He's in the 9th percentile, per Synergy, meaning that spot-ups are extremely effective against him. This could be evidence that he shouldn't be chasing stretch-4s around the court and is better served as a center, but he's not a dominant center in the vein of Gobert or Jordan.

Rodney Hood: Rodney Hood is going to get a substantial raise this summer. Utah is shopping him for that reason, as Donovan Mitchell is taking the reins as the top offensive weapon. Hood will be a restricted free agent, so whoever he's playing for can match any offer he's given, but he is currently one of the lowest price-to-production contributors in the NBA. He is also the opposite of the trending-out style of player that Favors represents, as Hood is a 25-year-old, 6'8 wing player who can shoot.

This season, Hood is at a career-best 38.6% from deep, despite a bizarrely low 34% from the corners, and has been particularly good as a pick and roll ball-handler (per Synergy). Even if he is a suspect defender - and he is, according to a lot of advanced metrics - he can score, his team shoots better when he's on the floor, and he draws fouls.

So who can they get for these guys?

Hard to say. The trade market is confusing right now, as the buyers (Cavs, Wizards, Thunder after Roberson injury, Pelicans after Cousins injury) are typically looking for bigs that can shoot. Similarly, due to Hood's small salary, the Jazz will absolutely demand a nice draft pick for him. Among those buyers, the Thunder have nothing in the way of assets, and any trade with the Wizards would probably need to include Kelly Oubre, which doesn't seem likely.

The pickings are pretty slim, but here we go.

Trade #1 

Utah gets: Langston Galloway, Stanley Johnson, Henry Ellenson
Detroit gets: Rodney Hood, Joe Johnson

A pick may get thrown in to sweeten this deal, although I'm not entirely sure which team needs a sweetener more.

Why would the Jazz do this? Stanley Johnson, mostly. Johnson is having a rough season. He hasn't figured out how to shoot yet, he is a nightmare on defense (according to Synergy), and in his small sample size, he is one of the league's worst isolation players. However, he's only 21 years old, he's an incredible athlete, and in his rookie year he pestered LeBron James to surprising success in the playoffs. There's something there. He's only due $7 million over the next two seasons, which is a nice price to see what you've got. Galloway, for his part, has seen his advanced stats and per-100 possessions numbers go up across the board this year. He's still young (26), and could possibly fill some of Hood's role while also offering a better shooting stroke at point guard than Ricky Rubio.

Why would Detroit do this? Cap space, mostly. Joe Johnson's $10 million comes off the books and they have a shot at retaining Hood, who could take the place of the recently departed Avery Bradley.

Trade #2

Utah gets: Nikola Mirotic
Chicago gets: Derrick Favors, a 2nd round pick

This trade seems too simple, but Mirotic almost just got traded for Omer Asik and picks, so Chicago is ready to bail on him in a big way. While Utah's 2nd rounder isn't as good as the picks that New Orleans offered, Favors is a real-life basketball player whereas Asik is...less of one. Utah's 2nd round pick could end up relatively valuable, or maybe Utah has to add in another future pick.

The Jazz would do this trade because Mirotic is a shooter for a team that could use more shooting. While Niko isn't exactly a defensive stalwart, he's about to turn 27 and an absolute deadeye from outside. He's sitting at 43% from deep this season on a team that doesn't really need or want him on the roster (Markkanen is taking his place as a tall shooter anyway). The Jazz would be crazy not to pick up his option for next year, which was the hang-up for New Orleans, and they'd suddenly have a drive-and-kick guard, three shooters, and a monstrous center in their starting lineup. That's a good formula.

Chicago would probably do this trade because Favors' contract expires, meaning they can try him out for 30 games and see what they've got, then have serious money for free agency this summer.

Trade #3 (the New Orleans/Chicago trade that didn't happen)

Utah gets: Omer Asik, a 1st round pick, a future 2nd round pick
New Orleans gets: Derrick Favors

New Orleans can offer up this year's first-round pick, which the Jazz should probably jump on unless they're confident that the Pelicans will *not* re-sign the recently injured DeMarcus Cousins. Next year is an unbelievably huge question mark for the Pels, as if Cousins doesn't come back at full-strength, they have to truly consider trading Anthony Davis. That would suggest next year's NO pick could be even better than this current one, which could fall in the lottery if the Pelicans fall off significantly without Cousins (they are expected to).

Those are things the Jazz need to consider, as this trade is fairly possible. Utah might do it without asking for a 2nd round pick as well, making it a little easier for New Orleans to handle. Asik would likely be bought out, as he's a non-factor if ever there was one. In fact, the 2nd round pick is more about a team becoming willing to take on Asik than it is about the value of Favors. This trade would simply set up Utah to take more swings in the draft, hoping to hit another Donovan Mitchell style home run.

The Jazz are sellers at this trade deadline, but that doesn't mean they'll take an offer just to take it. Hopefully, the right one will come along.

We're past the midway point of the season and the Utah Jazz are on the outside looking in. Four games out of the playoff picture, and with the Ricky Rubio experiment on rocky footing, the Jazz are reportedly shopping multiple players before the trade deadline. Who is a pipe dream? What are some possible moves to be made? And is anyone going to give up something useful for Rodney Hood and his bite-sized contract?

Trade Bait

The two names which have been most commonly thrown out for trades are Derrick Favors and Rodney Hood. Both players are on expiring contracts, which makes them prime targets. Favors' price tag this year is an even $12 million while Hood is only a teeny-tiny $2.4 million (with a qualifying offer next year, meaning he's a restricted free agent this summer).

Teams want guys like this. 

Derrick Favors: Favors has been efficient this season, but he's a dying breed in the NBA. A 6'10, 250-pound interior player who can't shoot threes is trending out of the league. However, Favors has been good elsewhere, both with and without Rudy Gobert healthy. According to Synergy Sports, Favors has ranked in the 77th percentile in the NBA in scoring efficiency in the half-court, scoring just over 1.00 PPP (points per possession). 

Similarly, Favors is in the 70th percentile in the league on defense, allowing just 0.871 PPP. He has been particularly effective defending both parts of the pick and roll - a huge piece of almost every NBA offense - as he has stifled both the big man and the ball-handler on a regular basis. This is an enormously useful skill, and his proficiency is a reflection of both his skillset and Utah's overall defensive prowess.

Furthermore, according to Cleaning The Glass, opponents take fewer shots at the rim and more shots in the midrange against the Jazz when Favors is on the floor. This is usually great for a defense. The downside, however, is that spot-up shooters score a lot against Favors. He's in the 9th percentile, per Synergy, meaning that spot-ups are extremely effective against him. This could be evidence that he shouldn't be chasing stretch-4s around the court and is better served as a center, but he's not a dominant center in the vein of Gobert or Jordan.

Rodney Hood: Rodney Hood is going to get a substantial raise this summer. Utah is shopping him for that reason, as Donovan Mitchell is taking the reins as the top offensive weapon. Hood will be a restricted free agent, so whoever he's playing for can match any offer he's given, but he is currently one of the lowest price-to-production contributors in the NBA. He is also the opposite of the trending-out style of player that Favors represents, as Hood is a 25-year-old, 6'8 wing player who can shoot.

This season, Hood is at a career-best 38.6% from deep, despite a bizarrely low 34% from the corners, and has been particularly good as a pick and roll ball-handler (per Synergy). Even if he is a suspect defender - and he is, according to a lot of advanced metrics - he can score, his team shoots better when he's on the floor, and he draws fouls.

So who can they get for these guys?

Hard to say. The trade market is confusing right now, as the buyers (Cavs, Wizards, Thunder after Roberson injury, Pelicans after Cousins injury) are typically looking for bigs that can shoot. Similarly, due to Hood's small salary, the Jazz will absolutely demand a nice draft pick for him. Among those buyers, the Thunder have nothing in the way of assets, and any trade with the Wizards would probably need to include Kelly Oubre, which doesn't seem likely.

The pickings are pretty slim, but here we go.

Trade #1 

Utah gets: Langston Galloway, Stanley Johnson, Henry Ellenson
Detroit gets: Rodney Hood, Joe Johnson

A pick may get thrown in to sweeten this deal, although I'm not entirely sure which team needs a sweetener more.

Why would the Jazz do this? Stanley Johnson, mostly. Johnson is having a rough season. He hasn't figured out how to shoot yet, he is a nightmare on defense (according to Synergy), and in his small sample size, he is one of the league's worst isolation players. However, he's only 21 years old, he's an incredible athlete, and in his rookie year he pestered LeBron James to surprising success in the playoffs. There's something there. He's only due $7 million over the next two seasons, which is a nice price to see what you've got. Galloway, for his part, has seen his advanced stats and per-100 possessions numbers go up across the board this year. He's still young (26), and could possibly fill some of Hood's role while also offering a better shooting stroke at point guard than Ricky Rubio.

Why would Detroit do this? Cap space, mostly. Joe Johnson's $10 million comes off the books and they have a shot at retaining Hood, who could take the place of the recently departed Avery Bradley.

Trade #2

Utah gets: Nikola Mirotic
Chicago gets: Derrick Favors, a 2nd round pick

This trade seems too simple, but Mirotic almost just got traded for Omer Asik and picks, so Chicago is ready to bail on him in a big way. While Utah's 2nd rounder isn't as good as the picks that New Orleans offered, Favors is a real-life basketball player whereas Asik is...less of one. Utah's 2nd round pick could end up relatively valuable, or maybe Utah has to add in another future pick.

The Jazz would do this trade because Mirotic is a shooter for a team that could use more shooting. While Niko isn't exactly a defensive stalwart, he's about to turn 27 and an absolute deadeye from outside. He's sitting at 43% from deep this season on a team that doesn't really need or want him on the roster (Markkanen is taking his place as a tall shooter anyway). The Jazz would be crazy not to pick up his option for next year, which was the hang-up for New Orleans, and they'd suddenly have a drive-and-kick guard, three shooters, and a monstrous center in their starting lineup. That's a good formula.

Chicago would probably do this trade because Favors' contract expires, meaning they can try him out for 30 games and see what they've got, then have serious money for free agency this summer.

Trade #3 (the New Orleans/Chicago trade that didn't happen)

Utah gets: Omer Asik, a 1st round pick, a future 2nd round pick
New Orleans gets: Derrick Favors

New Orleans can offer up this year's first-round pick, which the Jazz should probably jump on unless they're confident that the Pelicans will *not* re-sign the recently injured DeMarcus Cousins. Next year is an unbelievably huge question mark for the Pels, as if Cousins doesn't come back at full-strength, they have to truly consider trading Anthony Davis. That would suggest next year's NO pick could be even better than this current one, which could fall in the lottery if the Pelicans fall off significantly without Cousins (they are expected to).

Those are things the Jazz need to consider, as this trade is fairly possible. Utah might do it without asking for a 2nd round pick as well, making it a little easier for New Orleans to handle. Asik would likely be bought out, as he's a non-factor if ever there was one. In fact, the 2nd round pick is more about a team becoming willing to take on Asik than it is about the value of Favors. This trade would simply set up Utah to take more swings in the draft, hoping to hit another Donovan Mitchell style home run.

The Jazz are sellers at this trade deadline, but that doesn't mean they'll take an offer just to take it. Hopefully, the right one will come along.

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