Evaluating Jazz-Pistons Trade Involving Bojan Bogdanovic
The start of a massive rebuild continues for the Utah Jazz, as they agreed to a trade with the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, sending veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovic to Detroit for guard Saben Lee and center Kelly Olynyk, first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Bogdanovic has been a player on the trade market ever since the Jazz first traded All-Star center Rudy Gobert back in July and then after the team moved on from All-Star Donovan Mitchell, it was clear that Bogdanovic’s days in Utah were numbered.
Several playoff contending teams, including the likes of the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks had all reached out to the Jazz to inquire about Bogdanovic’s trade availability, sources told Fastbreak on FanNation, but Utah’s main goal in moving their veteran forward was to take back minimal, short-term salaries.
Not to mention, the three teams listed above have nothing more than longer contracts and late first-round picks to offer up, which the Jazz did not see much value in.
In return for trading Bogdanovic to Detroit, the Jazz received both Saben Lee and Kelly Olynyk, adding onto a roster that is full of talent, but does not present much upside entering training camp.
Lee was drafted 38th overall in 2020 by the Utah Jazz and was then dealt on draft night to the Detroit Pistons. In two seasons with Detroit, Lee has averaged 5.6 points and 3.3 assists in about 16.3 minutes per game.
At 23-years-old, Saben Lee still has plenty of room for growth and is a solid, young talent for the Jazz to add to their backcourt and compete for a roster spot in training camp.
As for Kelly Olynyk, he is a player that former Boston Celtics executive and current Utah Jazz executive Danny Ainge has liked for many years and Olynyk will likely slide right into the team’s starting center position, which has been left vacant since Gobert was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this offseason.
He will undoubtedly compete with the likes of Udoka Azubuike, Cody Zeller and rookie Walker Kessler in training camp, but this starting spot in the frontcourt seems to be Olynyk’s to lose at this point, especially given what he has accomplished over his career.
Now preparing for his 10th NBA season and has played for Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons. For his career, Kelly Olynyk has averaged 10.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in about 22.0 minutes per game while shooting 36.5 percent from three-point range.
Olynyk is definitely not a bad piece to the puzzle for the Jazz to add given that they are a rebuilding franchise, nor is Lee, but it is surprising to see Utah surrender Bogdanovic for a lot less value than they could have received.
Making $12.8 million this season and then having his contract partially-guaranteed for $3 million out of $12.19 million for next season, Kelly Olynyk will definitely save the Jazz some cap space and taxes, but the biggest reason why this trade may not make too much sense for Utah is because they received zero draft compensation.
Since joining the Jazz in 2019, Bojan Bogdanovic has averaged 18.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor and 39.7 percent from three-point range. A very solid secondary scorer who shoots a very high percentage from deep, Bogdanovic is absolutely a player the Jazz could have traded straight-up for a first-round pick, so it is a bit surprising to see them not even get a second-round pick from Detroit in this deal.
On the other side of things, the Pistons made out very well in this deal by trading a former second-round pick and a player they used available cash space on last year for someone who can come in and contribute at a high-level right now.
However, are the Pistons ready to take the next step as a young team and try to fight their way to a Play-In Tournament spot?
It is certainly possible and this is a pretty risk-free move made by the Pistons going out and trading for Bojan Bogdanovic.
The worst thing that happens from their perspective is that they still end up missing the playoffs and Bogdanovic becomes an unrestricted free agent. He would end up signing with a new team most likely and the Pistons would instantly have just under $20 million in new cap space to utilize how they see fit.
Giving up no draft compensation was the biggest win for general manager Troy Weaver and this Pistons front-office, which is why they should be walking away very happy from this trade with the Utah Jazz.
