With his free agency looming, the New Orleans Pelicans have a tough decision to make on the future of Favors.
The New Orleans Pelicans are in a good position. They have the best young core in the NBA, plenty of future draft picks and no clear weaknesses. Most teams would be happy to trade places and take on the Pelicans combination of young talent and assets.
One thing that isn’t clear is the future of center Derrick Favors.
Favors isn’t loud or flashy. He doesn’t put up huge numbers or get highlight reel dunks.
But Favors is the anchor of the interior defense for the New Orleans Pelicans, a solid veteran presence who sets the tone for the team defensively.
Favors is undoubtedly an important member of the New Orleans Pelicans, but with his $17.65 million due to come off the books in the offseason, New Orleans has to decide whether to re-sign him or go in a different direction.
The center position is rapidly changing in the NBA and guys like Favors are finding themselves being replaced by stretch-fours and fives who can shoot the 3-pointer and spend very little time in the lane.
Favors does nothing but rebound, block shots and dunk, so he hardly fits the profile of a modern NBA five. In fact Favors probably would have thrived in the 1990’s, when his physical style of play would have been more valuable to teams focused on defense.
Favors is one of the few consistent defenders and rebounders for the New Orleans Pelicans, but will that be enough to get him a new contract with the team, or will they decide to forego these things completely in an effort to become the highest scoring team in the NBA behind Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram?
Let’s break down the options for the New Orleans Pelicans.
If the New Orleans Pelicans Bring Favors Back
There are some benefits to re-signing Favors to another contract. Favors is in his 12th season, but is still just 28 and has plenty of more gas left in the tank.
The New Orleans Pelicans currently rank 21st in the NBA in team defense, a number that is almost sure to get worse if they lose Favors and don’t replace him with another rim protector.
Favors is one of the only adults on the interior for the Pelicans and has no problem matching up with opposing power forwards or centers.
Williamson is not a great defender at this point in his career and is too busy ripping off rims to focus much on defense.
Re-signing Favors would allow Zion to continue to guard the worst front court player on the other team, freeing him up to focus on his offensive game.
Favors is also getting 9.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game for the New Orleans Pelicans, numbers that might be difficult to replace in free agency or via trade.
It is not easy to find professionals like Favors. He doesn’t care if he ever gets the ball, he does anything the team asks (even guarding Luka Doncic) and leads by example. He is the prototypical veteran presence the young Pelicans lack, especially without the services of J.J. Redick.
Favors is unlikely to get another big contract, so the Pelicans could likely retain his services and still make a move via trade or free agency.
Favors is the type of under-the-radar player that doesn’t draw headlines, but that every successful team needs.
However, there might be some advantages to moving on from Favors this offseason.
If the New Orleans Pelicans Let Favors Walk
There are certainly some benefits to having a no-nonsense veteran like Favors on the team, but there might be more advantages to letting him walk.
Favors is the best rebounder and rim protector on the New Orleans Pelicans, but only averages 24.2 minutes per game.
Favors often has to be pulled because of foul trouble, or because he can’t match up with the other team’s bigs on the perimeter.
We saw this matchup-dependency against the Dallas Mavericks, who punished the Pelicans by constantly forcing Favors to switch on the perimeter pick-and-roll. Favors did a decent job staying in front of Doncic, but lacks the foot speed and lateral movement to cover the perimeter regularly.
With so many teams featuring sharp shooting bigs, guys who can only guard the paint are starting to become a liability.
Even with Favors the Pelicans aren’t great defensively, so they might become more dynamic and contemporary if they let him walk. But where will Favors replacement come from?
The Internal Option
If the New Orleans Pelicans do decide to allow Favors to walk in free agency, then they may have his replacement already on the team.
Jaxson Hayes is just 19, but has already flashed the type of elite athleticism and rim protection that could make him a force for the Pelicans at center.
Hayes is a human highlight reel, but he is still filling out and is averaging just 17 minutes per game for the season. Hayes may not yet have the strength or endurance to body NBA bigs, and he doesn’t do much better than Favors when asked to guard the perimeter.
Hayes is averaging 7.5 points, four rebounds and nearly a block per game in limited action, but he may still be a few years away from playing big minutes for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Like Favors, Hayes cannot stretch the floor, so he might not be an upgrade if the Pelicans are looking for a big who can shoot.
Options in Free Agency
There are several intriguing options in free agency if the New Orleans Pelicans decide to look outside their own organization for help at center.
The top centers in free agency are probably out of the Pelicans’ price range, as they have to save money for Ingram’s free agency, re-signing Lonzo Ball and eventually inking Zion to what may be the biggest contract of all time.
There are a couple of guys who might not make as much and would replace Favor’s production.
If Tristan Thompson is willing to take far less money, then the 29-year-old unrestricted free agent would make some sense for the New Orleans Pelicans, as he is basically just a better version of Favors.
With such a weak free agent class, Thompson may find a number of suitors, which could price him out of the Pelicans’ range.
Same goes for Aron Baynes, who has probably played himself into a bigger contract than the $5.3 million he is currently making for Phoenix. Baynes has turned himself into an efficient shooter and would allow the Pelicans to stretch the floor and give Zion room to operate.
If the Pelicans wanted to go cheap, they could probably take a flyer on a player like Nerlens Noel, who offers next to nothing offensively but would replace Favor’s rim protection and rebounding.
The Pelicans could choose to forget about center and play more small ball with Zion at the five. This would allow them to use their free agency money on a player like Danilo Gallinari, whose shooting would definitely stretch the floor and who would be tough to stop in a pick-and-roll with Ball.
The New Orleans Pelicans have no shortage of options no matter which route they choose. Favors has been a solid veteran and gives the Pelicans things that no one else on the team currently does, but his style of play and lack of shooting may ultimately render him irrelevant in today’s game.
It will be an interesting offseason for the Pelicans and their decision with Favors will be a big part of it.