Boston Celtics: 2 Juan Hernangomez trades for OKC’s Derrick Favors

Why the Boston Celtics do it

Derrick Favors is an old school power forward in the vein of the ‘Mailman’ Karl Malone. No, he never had the All-Star dominance Malone flashed throughout a career that spanned 18 seasons. But the fellow bruiser did spend a significant amount of his career in Utah and opted for the mid-range and the paint instead of extending beyond the 3-point line. Both are also six-foot-nine and weighed around 260 pounds solid.

He’d fit in well alongside Grant Williams in the second unit, considering guys like Favors are modern-day centers now.

Why the OKC Thunder do it

Derrick Favors isn’t helping the Thunder win any games this season. While the Thunder are short on talent they can deploy at the 5, trading Favors could open up lineups with Darius Bazley at the 5 and Josh Giddey at the 4.

Bruno Fernando could also walk into more minutes if the Thunder want to give the third-year man a spin on a team going nowhere fast in 2021-22.

Perhaps he can develop and thrive on the Thunder as one of the lone rim presences. And who knows? Maybe Juan Hernangomez could be the next Mike Muscala in Oklahoma City.