For veteran Joe Smith, Nets rookie Derrick Favors' work ethic 'one of the best I've seen'

Joe Smith has been in the NBA a long time, and he’s seen plenty of young players come and go. Derrick Favors, he believes, is one of the better ones he’s been around.

“The potential that he has, the sky’s the limit for him,’’ Smith said yesterday about the 19-year-old power forward the Nets chose with the No. 3 pick in the draft last summer.

“I’ve never seen, at 18 — besides Dwight Howard — an 18- or 19-year-old with the body that he has. And the work ethic that he’s brought to the table has been one of the best I’ve seen in a while.’’

His performance so far has turned veteran Troy Murphy into a spare part, but it has also made the Nets very happy.

“He’s right on schedule for what I’ve talked about, which is, hopefully,

Against the Kings, Favors got a second chance to go against rookie DeMarcus Cousins, who had some brash talk involving the Nets and Favors last month. In an interview with Yahoo Sports, Cousins, the No. 5 pick overall, said he would go hardest against the teams that passed over him in the draft “especially that big that got picked before me.’’

He meant Favors.

“I feel I was the best big to come out of college,’’ Cousins continued. “For another big to get picked before me, I have a problem with that.’’

Cousins entered last night’s game averaging 10.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game. He started five of Sacramento’s first 10 games because of an injury to former Seton Hall star Samuel Dalembert.

In the first meeting, Cousins started and had 12 points and four rebounds before fouling out. Favors had 10 points and seven boards off the bench, and the Nets won, 106-100.

The two have been playing against each other since high school, but Favors has always insisted there is no rivalry between them.

“To me, it’s just another basketball game,’’ he said. “I really don’t see it as a rivalry. It’s just another game.’’

Smith doesn’t buy that at all.

“As a competitor, anytime somebody says something about you, you have a lot of pride, so it’s going to fire you up,’’ Smith said.