The Jazz have agreed to trade center Kelly Olynyk and wing Ochai Agbaji to the Raptors, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, Utah will receive Kira Lewis, Otto Porter and a 2024 first-round pick from Toronto in the deal.
That 2024 first-rounder will be the least favorable of the Thunder’s, Clippers’, Rockets’, and Jazz’s picks, per Wojnarowski, so it figures to land near the end of the first round. Utah’s pick is top-10 protected, meaning there’s a scenario in which the Jazz end up hanging onto their own first-rounder and receive a separate pick (likely OKC’s or L.A.’s) as a result of this deal.
While it’s a little surprising to see a lottery-bound team like the Raptors surrender a first-round pick, the deal will net them a solid big man in Olynyk and a promising young prospect in Agbaji, who was the 14th overall pick in the 2022 draft.
Assuming the Raptors intend to hang onto Olynyk, the Toronto native will become the ninth Canadian to play for the franchise and will provide some depth in a frontcourt that’s relatively thin behind Jakob Poeltl. A forward/center who can stretch the floor, Olynyk is averaging 8.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and a career-high 4.4 assists in 20.4 minutes per game across 50 appearances this season. The 32-year-old has made 42.9% of his three-pointers, boosting his career rate to 37.0%.
Olynyk is on an expiring contract, but the Raptors will control his Bird rights this offseason, giving them the ability to go over the cap to re-sign him or to figure out a sign-and-trade.
As for Agbaji, the young wing hasn’t shown much offensive game since entering the league last season but is a solid defender who still has room to grow and is under contract through 2026. The Raptors have liked Agbaji for a while, says Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, and presumably viewed him as the type of player who can develop alongside the team’s young core of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett.
The Jazz and Raptors had reportedly been discussing a similar deal that would have included Bruce Brown – rather than a first-round pick – going to Utah. However, Toronto controlled an excess of picks in a 2024 draft that the club isn’t believed to be especially high on, while the Jazz are at risk of losing their own ’24 first-round selection, so the inclusion of the low first-rounder makes some sense.
The Raptors still own the Pacers’ first-round pick and the Pistons’ second-round pick in 2024 and would hang onto their own first-rounder if it ends up in the top six.
Lewis’ salary couldn’t be aggregated in a trade after being acquired from Indiana last month, but that won’t be necessary, since Porter’s $6.3M cap hit is enough on its own to match Olynyk’s $12.2M incoming salary, while Lewis’ $5.7M salary will be used to match Agbaji’s $4.1M cap hit.
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