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Bojan Bogdanović reportedly Traded to Pistons; Jazz Get Kelly Olynyk, Saben Lee

Doric Sam

The Utah Jazz reportedly continued their offseason fire sale Thursday by trading forward Bojan Bogdanović to the Detroit Pistons.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Jazz will receive center Kelly Olynyk and guard Saben Lee in return.

Tony Jones of The Athletic reported in June that Bogdanović was one of the players on Utah's roster who was expected to draw "significant interest" on the trade market this summer.

The 33-year-old was a key rotation player for the Jazz since he signed a four-year deal with the team in 2019. In 69 games in 2021-22, he was Utah's second-leading scorer with 18.1 points per game, which trailed only Donovan Mitchell.

Bogdanović added 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three-point range.

After beginning his professional career in Europe, the Croatian joined the NBA in 2014 and signed a three-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets. He was traded to the Washington Wizards in 2017 and signed with the Indiana Pacers later that year. He spent two seasons in Indiana before joining Utah.

The Jazz are a team in transition following the surprising resignation of head coach Quin Snyder on June 5. He guided the team to a 49-33 record last season, but Utah was ousted in the first round of the postseason by the Dallas Mavericks in six games. He was replaced by former Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy.

Bogdanović wasn't the only player on the move this offseason. Utah traded three-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Jazz also parted ways with center Rudy Gobert, sending the three-time Defensive Player of the Year to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both deals were in exchange for a haul of players and draft picks, setting up Utah to build for the future.

By acquiring Bogdanović, Detroit is getting a sharpshooter who can stretch the floor on offense. While the seven-year NBA veteran isn't a game-changer by any means, he will be able to provide consistent scoring alongside the likes of Cade Cunningham for a Pistons team that is perhaps trying to accelerate its rebuild.

As for the Jazz, trading Bogdanović brings them even deeper into a rebuild, plus it gives them another potential trade piece in Olynyk, who could be coveted by contenders during the season as a rotational big.

Even if the Jazz are unable to trade the veteran, his salary is only partially guaranteed for the 2023-24 season, meaning they could move on without much issue.

   

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