18 October 2023
After falling out of the NBA for a year, Derrick Favors is getting back on the basketball court this season in Chicago.
The longtime center signed a training camp contract with the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. Coach Billy Donovan said the team plans to bring him full-time on the Windy City Bulls — the team’s G-League affiliate — for the 2023-24 season.
“I’ve always had respect for him, just being in the West with him for that period of time when he was at Utah,” Donovan said. “He still obviously loves to play. Having a veteran guy around those guys will be very helpful.”
Favors hasn’t played a game since Feb. 24, 2022 — a stark reminder of the brutal swiftness with which a player can fall off an NBA roster despite high expectations when they entered the league.
The 6-foot-9 center was one of the most promising talents in the NBA when the New Jersey Nets selected him with the No. 3 draft pick in 2010. Favors made his NBA debut at age 19 and became a regular starter after he was traded to the Utah Jazz.
Favors never quite matched the expectations of his early draft selection. He didn’t make an All-Star team in seven seasons as a starter. Although the Jazz went to the playoffs five times during his tenure with the team, they never advanced past the Western Conference semifinals. But he still made a major impact during his 10 seasons with the Jazz, becoming the franchise’s 10th all-time scorer in 2021.
Favors began to bounce around the league in 2019 when he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. He re-signed with Utah in 2020 on a three-year deal but was subsequently traded to Oklahoma City in 2021. After riding the bench for the latter half of his first season with the Thunder, Favors was traded to the Houston Rockets in September 2022 and waived less than a month later.
For the last year, Favors has been battling to work back onto a roster. He most recently signed a 10-day contract with the Atlanta Hawks in January but didn’t play during the short stint.
Favors did not suit up for Tuesday’s preseason game against the Toronto Raptors and will likely work with Windy City. But recent success stories such as Carlik Jones — who earned a full-time contract with the Bulls last spring after winning the G-League MVP award — showcase the potential path into the league the team can offer.
Alex Caruso sits out with ankle injury
The Bulls played without key rotational guard Alex Caruso on Tuesday. Caruso tweaked his ankle during practice earlier in the week after coming down awkwardly on a teammate’s foot.
Donovan said the decision to hold Caruso out was based on the training staff being “pretty precautious” with the defensive star, who has been injury-prone throughout his career. Caruso has emphasized recovery and offseason strength training as keys to avoiding injury last season, when he played a personal-best 67 games.
The team aims to return Caruso to the lineup for the final preseason game on Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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