SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – Derrick Favors always knew he would return to the Utah Jazz. He just didn’t think it would be this soon.
“I didn’t really think it was going to be the next season,” said Favors, who signed a 3-year, $30-million free agent contract with the Jazz. “I thought it was going to be down the line, like two or three years. But once the opportunity came, I couldn’t turn it down.”
Favors spent 8-plus seasons with the Jazz before being traded to New Orleans last year. And as he was fielding free agent offers from other teams, only one of them felt right.
“I just came to the decision that I feel better going back to Utah,” Favors said. “I love the system there, I love the organization and the city. I’m just familiar with it and it feels like home.”
Favors said he really wanted to play for head coach Quin Snyder again, and the chemistry with his old teammates is undeniable.
“It was like a brotherhood with everybody,” Favors said. “So, once I committed and it got out there that I agreed to join the Jazz again, a lot of the players hit me up. And I wanted to play for Coach Quin. He’s like my favorite coach in the world right now.”
There were no hard feelings when the Jazz traded Favors to the Pelicans for two draft picks. He says he understood it was a business decision.
“I knew that once they went out and signed Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic,” he said. “I knew financially that someone has to get traded.”
Favors role will be different this time around. No longer a starter, Favors will provide defense and scoring off the bench for this deep and potent Jazz team.
“I won’t play 30 minutes,” he said. “I’ll probably play 20 to 25 minutes. We talked about it a little bit, but I already knew. Me and Mike Conley texted earlier. I told him how excited I was to team up with him, Jordan Clarkson and Bogdanovic, two guys who can put the ball in the basket also, along with Donovan Mitchell. So, it’s going to be exciting.”
The Jazz being training camp December 1st.
