Fire sale continues: Utah Jazz trade Bojan Bogdanovic to Detroit Pistons in exchange for big man Kelly Olynyk and guard Saven Lee. According to athletic.
For the Pistons, 33-year-old Bogdanovic solidifies the starting lineup for a rebuilding team looking to take a step forward. With him and Sadiq Bey in the forward spot, there should be plenty of room for guards Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey to act in. Losing Olynyk means no stretch 5 on the roster. But the center eases congestion at his spot. Jalen Duren, Nerlens Noel, Isaiah Stewart and Marvin Bagley III will battle it out in the frontcourt for a few minutes if Detroit doesn’t move any further.
In Utah, Olynyk, 31, will reunite with former Celtics chairman Danny Ainge. Assuming the Jazz don’t trade him elsewhere, he will provide some structure to a team that lacks a large number of scorers and distributors, as it is currently being built. While not the same kind of scoring threat, he can get out of the high post and force opponent bigs out on the perimeter. may be changed to
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It is unclear if the 23-year-old Lee was included in Utah’s plans or if he was included in the trade as a salary filler. Only 26.5% of the 3-point attempts were successful. The Jazz are overloaded with guards, but that could change in the coming weeks.
If the Pistons aren’t interested in another high-drawing pick and haven’t sent Utah draft compensation, this is a steal. If Detroit gets off to a bad start and bottoms out, they can move Bogdanovic before the trade deadline.
Why would Utah do this?As Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype said:Trade cuts $5 million from the luxury tax bill and gives teams flexibility when considering their next move. Jazz can also create a $6.75 million trade exception.