A conjecture of Orlov predicts that derived equivalent smooth projective varieties over a field have isomorphic Chow motives. The conjecture is known for curves, and was recently observed for surfaces by Huybrechts. In this paper we focus on threefolds over perfect fields, and unconditionally secure results, which are implied by Orlov's conjecture, concerning the geometric coniveau filtration, and abelian varieties attached to smooth projective varieties.