The Detroit Pistons pretty much came out of nowhere to swoop in on Bojan Bogdanovic from the Utah Jazz. The sharp-shooting veteran was heavily linked to the Los Angeles Lakers before the Pistons trade went down, and in the end, the Jazz settled for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee in exchange for Bogdanovic.
According to previous reports, Utah slapped Bojan with a price tag of at least one future first-round pick. They obviously didn’t get this from the Pistons, and there is apparently a very good reason as to why this turned out to be the case. According to Jazz insider Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah just wasn’t amenable to the other offers that were on the table:
The Jazz received offers including late first round picks for Bogdanovic, but those deals involved longer-term salaries.
For their part, the Lakers have their 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks at their disposal. Is it possible that they were one of the teams that made an offer that the Jazz eventually turned down? The Phoenix Suns were also mentioned as a potential landing spot for Bojan Bogdanovic so perhaps they too made an offer that just wasn’t good enough for Utah?
Whatever the case may be, the Pistons get a real stud in Bogdanovic, and he should be a valuable veteran piece alongside their young and promising core. The Jazz, on the other hand, acquire a potentially flippable Kelly Olynyk and another young prospect in Saben Lee. The rebuild continues.
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