Summary
After spending one year in New Orleans, Favors was re-signed by the Jazz in 2020. The Jazz hoped that adding Favors would give them 48 minutes of above-average center play, but unfortunately Favors just didn't live up to the contract he got from Utah, as the Jazz had to give OKC a first round pick just to take him on. Compound that with the multiple second round picks that the Jazz had to give away to move Tony Bradley and Ed Davis that summer just so they could have enough room to give Favors the full MLE, and overall you have a pretty disastrous signing.

Favors had a pretty rough '21-'22 season with the Thunder. He did not get to the rim as frequently, and when he did get there he didn't convert as well as he has over the course of his career. This led to Favors having his lowest eFG% since 2017. A loss in athleticism as he has aged has seemed to hurt his effectiveness in the paint. Now in his thirties, Favors isn't the athlete he used to be, so although he sets good screens he's not quite the same lob threat he used to be.

Defensively, Favors provides some rim protection, as he has good pretty good positional awareness and defensive instincts. However, his '21-'22 block rate was below average for the first time in his career, and his rebounding rates also dipped to around average after being well above-average for the majority of his career. While he's primarily a drop coverage big, he can hold his own decently after switches, even if it's not something you want to see him do often.

Favors can be a decent backup center, one that can provide some minutes in the regular season but shouldn't be relied on for meaningful games. I would expect him to opt in to the final year of his contract, and forgo free agency in 2022.
 
Cap Considerations
Favors has a $10.2 million player option for 2022-2023, and if he declines that option he will be an unrestricted free agent with an $12.6 million cap hold and Early Bird rights. The Thunder could offer Favors a starting salary of up to $17 million using the Early Bird exception, which should be more than enough should they wish to bring him back. If the Thunder re-sign Favors, his cap hold will be replaced by his starting salary, and the Thunder may still have some cap space available depending on his salary and what happens with their other free agents.

If Favors demands a starting salary of more than the full $10.3 million Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, only teams with cap space will be able to sign him (unless a sign-and-trade is completed), but it's possible that Favors could be had for the full MLE or less, although if he opts out it probably means he has an offer close to the full MLE, otherwise he wouldn't opt out.

If Favors opts in, there's a good chance he could be bought out, or waived outright. As a free agent, I'm not sure that Favors would get more than the minimum.