At one point, it felt like the Los Angeles Lakers had the inside track on Bojan Bogdanovic. LA needed more shooters on their squad and the former Utah Jazz veteran seemed to be a perfect fit for them. In the end, however, Utah opted to deal Bogdanovic to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Kelly Olynyk, Saben Lee, and cash considerations.
As it turns out, the Lakers did have a real shot at landing the 33-year-old. According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, LA was actually willing to meet the Jazz's asking price of one first-round pick for Bogdanovic. However, there was one major hurdle that stood in the way:
The Lakers, said people with knowledge of the situation who weren’t authorized to speak publicly, were willing to include a first-round pick in a trade for the shooter, but the team continued to balk at taking on long-term contracts — a sign that maintaining salary-cap space next summer remains one of the top priorities.
The report did not indicate what particular long-term contract the Lakers “balked at,” but what is clear is that they did not want to take a cap hit. In the end, not even the prospect of adding Bogdanovic to the squad was enough to convince LA.
Whether or not this is the right decision for the Lakers now remains to be seen. They did make a handful of offseason acquisitions, but it does feel like they're still missing a few pieces. Bogdanovic could have been a great fit, but apparently, the price was too big to pay.
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