The Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz have been two of the most active teams this offseason and that continued on Thursday as they conducted a trade. Bojan Bogdanovic is heading to the Motor City in exchange for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee. This deal came as a bit of a surprise considering the Los Angeles Lakers' heavy interest in Bogdanovic, who was seen as the perfect fit as a knockdown shooter alongside LeBron James. Instead, the Pistons will benefit from his veteran experience and shooting.
Here are grades for both the Pistons and Jazz for this trade.
Pistons: B+
Some more good business from GM Troy Weaver. With a relatively young roster in Detroit headlined by Cade Cunningham and electrifying rookie Jaden Ivey, Bojan Bogdanovic is a very nice addition to a team who ranked 29th in the NBA in three-point shooting last season. Bogdanovic is one of the premier shooters in the league, draining two triples per contest throughout his eight-year career. In 2021-22, he shot 39.7% from long range and averaged 18.4 points.
Also, the Croatian has just one year remaining on his four-year, $73.1 million contract. He's set to make $19.6 million in 2022-23 and will become a free agent next summer. He's been around the block for a hot minute and can serve as a mentor to the young guns on the Pistons such as Ivey, Cunningham, Killian Hayes, and others. There is no question Detroit is in a full rebuild but bringing in a seasoned veteran who can immediately help in more ways than one should definitely be seen as a positive.
Losing Olynyk and Lee isn't really a huge deal. Their frontcourt depth isn't lacking right now, especially after acquiring Jalen Duren on draft night and re-signing Marvin Bagley. Plus, Isaiah Stewart is improving each and every year.
Jazz: B-
This isn't a bad move for the Jazz. They're doing their absolute best to retool instead of rebuild and bringing in Olynyk, in particular, will help them do that. Sure, he's not a star in this league, but the Canadian big man has been around and can serve as a reliable big in the starting lineup. He'll likely slot in as their first-choice center now after the departure of Rudy Gobert. Olynyk averaged 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds last season and is a reliable rebounder around the cup.
As for Lee, he gives Utah more PG depth. His minutes at the NBA are limited, starting just seven games in two seasons. It's frankly unknown how much playing time he'll receive though, especially if Mike Conley remains in Salt Lake City. The options behind him and Collin Sexton are Jordan Clarkson, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Nevertheless, it's another young piece for the Jazz as they look to start over in a sense.
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