10 players the Rockets could add with the mid-level exception

2. Derrick Favors

Derrick Favors has been consistent throughout his NBA career, as he has career averages of 11.4 points and 7.4 rebounds, along with an average Player Efficiency Rating of 18.9, which is above the league’s average of 15. Favors was inked to a two-year deal worth $36 million in 2018, which put his annual salary at $16 million per year.

Favors didn’t exactly live up to that number in the NBA bubble, as he played in six games for the New Orleans Pelicans in Orlando, posting averages of 7.3 points and 9.3 rebounds. All in all, Favors averaged 9 points and 9.8 rebounds over the course of the entire 2019-20 season, which is a slight regression from how Favors performed as a member of the Utah Jazz, where he spent nine seasons of his NBA career.

Favors posted averages of 16 points and 8.2 rebounds during the 2014-15 season, and followed that up with 16.4 points and 8.1 rebounds the following season. It goes without saying that the Houston Rockets are in dire need of a big man, and at 6-foot-9 and 265 pounds, Favors would be a valuable add, as his rebounding ability would be an immediate boost to the Rockets, in addition to his ability to catch lob passes and/or allow James Harden to utilize the pick-and-roll, which he’s proven to be successful at doing.

Favors is certain to land a deal within the Rockets’ $5.7 million range, and he would be a quality addition for a team in need of size.

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