As the Los Angeles Lakers continue to focus on signing a star free agent and trading for Anthony Davis, they have surely also considered the need for signing veteran free agents to fill out the team.
Among those players is Derrick Favors who, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, has garnered interest by the Lakers. The Utah Jazz big man is under contract for the 2019-20 season but his $16 million contract is fully nonguaranteed if waived by July 5th.
The Jazz are already spending big money on Rudy Gobert to man the center position and Favors is better suited to be his backup. It would not be a shock if Utah waives the big man to create cap space. Waiving Favors before his guarantee date could potentially open up space for a max contract for the Jazz.
For the Lakers, Favors joins Marcus Morris as a rumored target for frontcourt depth. Favors could start for LA if the team does not trade for Davis or he could be a really valuable piece off the bench. Last season, the 27-year-old averaged 11.8 points and 7.4 rebounds in just 23.2 minutes per game while providing versatile defense.
The Lakers received a brutal lesson on the importance of depth last year and, at least for now, seem determined not to make the same mistake.
