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Trade Grades: Pistons Acquire Bojan Bogdanovic From The Utah Jazz

The Pistons improved their roster in several ways by trading for Bojan Bogdanovic.

The Pistons made a trade Thursday morning with the Utah Jazz, acquiring Bojan Bogdanovic in exchange for Kelly Olynk and Saben Lee. Let’s grade the trade...

Pistons: A

No, this is not a biased take. Troy Weaver pulled some magic today getting a 39% career three-point shooter in Bogdanovic. For the Pistons, this trade does three things. 

First, it opens a lane for rookie center Jalen Duren, who now has an easier path to playing time with only Nerlens Noel being the other true center. Duren can likely work his way into the starting lineup much easier if all things break right for him this season.

Second, it adds something the Pistons desperately need: shooting. The team ranked near the bottom of the league in three-point shooting last year, so any shooter will help.

But Bogdanovic’s impact goes beyond shooting. The third thing this trade does is provide veteran leadership, which the young Pistons still need. His experience with the Utah Jazz and the playoff runs they went through will provide some perspective for just about every player on the Pistons roster. This alone makes the trade worth it.

Jazz: B+

Some people may debate on whether the Jazz could have gotten more for Bogdanovic but at this moment, the focus seems to be on beginning a new rebuild, and potentially a shot at the projected No. 1 pick, Victor Wembanyama. When you consider this, the only thing that could have been potentially better than the Pistons offer would have been draft picks. The Jazz instead get Olynk, who has a team option with his contract, and Saben Lee, who they can take a flier on. This gives them financial flexibility moving forward. The only negative I can think of this trade is that you wonder what were the other options for the Jazz. Did anyone else offer picks? Could they have gotten a second rounder from Detroit instead of Lee? For those reasons, a B+ is a fair grade.