Gut Reaction: Jazz Trade Kelly Olynyk & Ochai Agbaji to Raptors
The Utah Jazz reached terms on a second and final trade before the 2024 NBA trade deadline early Thursday morning. The deal sent veteran big man Kelly Olynyk and sophomore wing Ochai Agbaji to the Toronto Raptors for a 2024 first-round pick, Kira Lewis, and Otto Porter Jr.
This was an interesting move for the Jazz and one that leaves the team with plenty of questions. Let’s analyze the trade and what that could mean going forward.
Outgoing
The Jazz are shipping out two of their key rotational pieces in the deal — Olynyk and Agbaji combined for just over 40 minutes per game for the 26-26 squad. Olynyk was in the midst of a highly productive season where he’s shooting 56.2% from the floor and 42.9% from three.
Because of his shooting, playmaking, IQ, and expiring contract, Olynyk was rumored to be one of the most highly sought-after players on the market. The soon-to-be 33-year-old was one of the key pieces on a bench unit that had been quite good for the Jazz over the past couple of months.
With rookie lottery pick Taylor Hendricks waiting in the wings, it made sense for the Jazz to send Olynyk to the highest bidder right now. Also, his impending unrestricted free agency made the Jazz re-signing him far from a given. If the Jazz do decide to go star hunting this summer, the added flexibility they acquired in this trade could help in that endeavor.
The Jazz adding Agbaji to the deal was a bit surprising. The 23-year-old was in his second season with the Jazz after being a part of the Donovan Mitchell trade.
Agbaji wasn’t able to carve out a huge role within a crowded backcourt and struggled in the inconsistent minutes he was given. Agbaji was often tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter weapon. While showing flashes of brilliance, he also had his share of lapses and growing pains.
Offensively, Agbaji fits the mold of a good role player. He’s a low-usage player who relies on his teammates to create looks for him. While his three-point percentage tumbled since the calendar flipped to 2024, Ochai has provided a big enough sample to believe in his shooting returning to form- especially from the corner.
While it’s disappointing to see the Jazz cutting bait so soon, Toronto should give Ochai a good opportunity to develop alongside some more natural creators — Scottie Barnes in particular. I still believe Ochai will be a high-level role player in the future.
Incoming
In another deal that’s headlined by a draft pick, the Jazz are acquiring a first-round pick that will convey as the least favorable of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, or Jazz. Essentially, they're getting a pick in the 26-29 range. For a Jazz team that came into the week looking at (likely) no draft assets in the upcoming draft, leaving with a late first and early second is an impressive coup.
Porter is finally a Jazzman. With rumors dating back as far as 2017, he was a popular trade target among Jazz fans looking for supporting pieces to pair with the Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert teams.
Fast forward to today, and Porter is still just 30 years old. It wasn’t long ago that he was starting for the Golden State Warriors during their championship run.
Unfortunately, Porter has played just 23 games since joining Toronto two seasons ago. If healthy, which I believe he is, he’s a prime candidate to fill the hole the Jazz now have on the wing. He is set to hit unrestricted free agency once his contract expires at the end of the season.
Lewis is the third former lottery pick the Jazz acquired this week. The Alabama Crimson Tide alumni was selected 13th overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2020. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound point guard has been bit by the injury bug early in his career and hasn’t been able to find his footing- he’s appeared in just 119 games in his short four-year career.
Lewis is a blur with the ball in his hands, especially when he’s able to turn on the jets in transition. Along with his speed, Lewis is a natural playmaker who can facilitate off of a live dribble.
There’s a reason Lewis was such a fast riser before his draft, and hopefully, he’s able to showcase that skillset with the Jazz before the end of the season. If nothing else, the Jazz get to evaluate a 22-year-old former lottery pick on an expiring contract.
Bottom Line
The Jazz remain focused on their future, a vision that you have to applaud. This trade opens up minutes for Hendricks and possibly even Brice Sensabaugh — something I’ve been pining for all year. The Jazz added yet another first-round pick that they’ll be able to use to bolster their young core in June.
Along with compiling one of the best war chests of any team in the association, the Jazz also added more flexibility to maneuver in the future. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the Jazz going star-hunting as soon as next offseason.
Lastly, it’ll be interesting to see how competitive the Jazz remain over the final 30 games of the season. They’re currently hovering on the edge of the play-in tournament but also sit outside of the top 10 in the draft lottery, an important cutoff point for whether or not their first-round pick conveys to Oklahoma City in June.
The Jazz have been adamant about wanting that pick to convey throughout the year, but we’ll find out whether those intentions were true or not over the next couple of months.
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