The 2024 NBA trade deadline is here, and deals are starting to fly in like crazy across the league. One of the more surprising deals of the morning saw the Toronto Raptors pick up Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agabji from the Utah Jazz in exchange for Otto Porter Jr., Kira Lewis Jr., and a 2024 first-round pick.
While the Jazz were known to be exploring deals for Olynyk, the fact that the Raptors were the ones that managed to pick him up was a bit surprising. Either way, with the deal now in the books, let's take a closer look at the return for both teams, and hand out some final grades to each squad as well.
Raptors get: C Kelly Olynyk, G Ochai Agabji
Jazz Get: F Otto Porter Jr., G Kira Lewis Jr., 2024 1st-round pick
Olynyk is the biggest piece of this deal, so it's best to look at the Raptors return first here. Viewed as one of the top big man trade targets at the deadline, Olynyk adds spacing from the center position when he's on the floor, while also playing solid interior defense as well. Olynyk's shooting has been lights out this season (8.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.4 APG, 56.2 FG%, 42.9 3P%), so it's not surprising that he had a lot of suitors.
When you consider that Olynyk's minutes had been cut pretty significantly from last season, it made sense for Utah to get rid of him. With bigger minutes, Olynyk should be able to thrive as a stretch big whose playmaking has also continued to improve as he's gotten older. On a Raptors team that has been selling away some big pieces, there's no question Olynyk will have minutes on his new team.
In addition to Olynyk, Toronto landed Agbaji, who was taken with the 14th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. Agbaji has flashed his potential early on in his career, but his numbers are down from last season (5.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.9 APG, 42.6 FG%), and the Jazz apparently decided it was time to cut ties with him.
It's not that Olynyk or Agbaji are bad players, but the trade as a whole for Toronto is confusing. They have already gotten rid of Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby this year, so they are unquestionably selling. And yet, they decided to pick up Olynyk, one of the top big man trade targets, in a move that a buyer would typically make.
Landing Agbaji and giving him minutes is a good idea, but there's no doubt this is a bit of a head-scratching move by the Raptors. Maybe they will make some more deals before the deadline to make this clearer, but as of right now, it's tough to see how this trade actually makes their team better moving forward.
Final Grade: C+
The Jazz have been intent on selling off some of their spare parts to aid their rebuilding-on-the-fly efforts, and after getting an iffy return for Simone Fontecchio on Wednesday, they did better here with Olynyk. Giving up on Agbaji felt a bit premature, but his path to minutes was a bit too crowded, so it's not the end of the world to send him to Toronto with Olynyk.
The return for Utah is going to be highlighted by the first-round pick they got, as that adds to what is becoming an increasingly impressive haul of picks. Chances are it's not going to be an outrageously high pick, but it could be used in another move to help the Jazz bring more talent to Utah.
Porter has only played in 15 games this season, and while his numbers aren't impressive by any stretch of the imagination (2.6 PPG, 1.9 APG, 1.5 RPG, 42.4 FG%), he's a strong two-way wing who has championship experience after winning the 2022 NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors. Porter could get moved again before the deadline, but if he stays put, he could be a helpful piece of Utah's rotation.
Lewis, who was the 13th overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, hasn't really panned out so far in his career, and his addition in this deal doesn't really move the needle. He's still just 22 years old, so the potential is still there, but there's no doubt he's a downgrade from Agbaji, who just sent away to Toronto.
It's not a mind-boggling trade, but it's tough to look at this deal and not view the Jazz as the winner. Whereas the Raptors are seemingly running in circles trying to figure out what to do, the Jazz are continuing to build for the future, while also piecing together a decent team on the court currently. This move isn't going to win them a title, but it's a shrewd piece of business that falls in line with their deadline day strategy, which is something that the Raptors cannot necessarily say they did on the other end of this deal.
Final Grade: B
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