3 buyout candidates for the Portland Trail Blazers to monitor
By Andy Quach
Buyout candidate the Portland Trail Blazers should monitor: Derrick Favors
Derrick Favors was salary-dumped by the Utah Jazz onto the Oklahoma City Thunder junior varsity team along with a future first-round pick in order to clear cap space to re-sign Mike Conley.
Favors has a player option that would keep him inked through 2022-2023 for an average payout of just under $10 million/year according to spotrac, so there’s a chance he just rides out his contract and counts his money on the Thunder bench. If legacy is what he’s chasing though, he’ll try to find his quickest flight out of OKC onto a contender.
Still only 30 years old, Favors has plenty in the tank to offer a title-chasing team. He’s a strong interior defender, with enough quickness to switch when needed. He’s one of the best rebounders in the league. He’s also one of the only remaining true post scorers left in this new age, who can be counted on to get two points from either block in the waning seconds of a shot clock.
The Thunder only have 15 players signed on for next season, so it wouldn’t make much sense for them to buy him out as they could try to dangle him for additional draft compensation following the expiration of his recently acquired trade exception. What could force OKC’s hand is if they fall in love with an available young player, someone like Nico Mannion or Dennis Smith Jr., that could contribute to their rebuild.
To sign another prospect, the Thunder would have to clear one of their roster spots and Favors would be at the top of the list for a team trying to lose as many games as possible.
If they give him the boot, the Portland Trail Blazers should be the first in line to add him to their rotation. He could very likely outplay Zeller for the backup center spot.