The Jazz keep selling, send Bojan Bogdanovic to Detroit
Should the Bucks have been in on this, and why did the division rival Pistons get Bogdanovic?
Thursday morning brought a pretty surprising buyer for a Utah Jazz veteran, as the Detroit Pistons acquired Bojan Bogdanovic for Kelly Olynyk, Saben Lee, and nothing else. That’s right: it took no draft compensation for Detroit to get Bogdanovic, who was maybe the highest valued vet left on Utah’s roster after trades that sent out Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell earlier this offseason.
Rohan Katti and I went in-depth on a potential trade between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Jazz earlier this week on the Gyro Step, although the main focus of that podcast was Jordan Clarkson, not Bogdanovic. We’ll circle back to Clarkson in a minute, but first let’s focus on the Bojan trade itself.
Bogdanovic to Detroit for no draft capital was surprising in multiple respects: Utah getting some sort of draft picks for Bogdanovic seemed likely, and my expectation going in was that a team like the Phoenix Suns or Los Angeles Lakers would be the one getting Bojan, not Detroit.
That said, I like the Pistons thought process here: Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey are the future. Even if those guys aren’t ready to contend now, being able to operate in something that resembles a real NBA offense should be beneficial to their development, and Bogdanovic will definitely help with that. Also, do not sleep on Detroit sneaking into the play-in conversation as early as this season: postseason basketball would also be beneficial to Cade and company down the line. Good for the Pistons, it’s encouraging and good for the league when more teams try to compete.
On the other end of the spectrum this is not so good for the Jazz, who must either like Saben Lee as a prospect or see Olynyk as someone easier to flip for value than Bogdanovic. At the bare minimum the Jazz saved some money with this trade — you’d hope they feel like they accomplished more than just that, although they did reportedly turn down offers with more guaranteed salary that included first round picks.
As this is the GSPN Substack, let’s get to what this means for the Milwaukee Bucks. In the most immediate sense, it means it will be tougher to beat the brakes off the Pistons (pun intended) four times this season, although the Pistons are still more likely to finish fourth than anywhere higher in the Central Division.
It’s always generally a net positive to Milwaukee when a good player like Bogdanovic goes to a non-contending team — he won’t move the needle, but might have made a real difference had he landed in Miami or Boston somehow. This works for the Bucks.
From a teambuilding perspective, if the Bucks do have interest in Clarkson or anybody else on Utah’s roster, this trade should signal that the Jazz are more or less having a fire sale. Bojan Bogdanovic is the type of veteran player who typically fetches a solid first rounder, and Utah was filling to forgo that price to save some money in the short and long term. That should be music to the ears of contending teams willing to spend a bit more to upgrade their talent.
With a bevy of second rounders plus the rights to Jordan Nwora via sign-and-trade and some salary building blocks, the Bucks may be able to secure a player they like from the Jazz without giving up their most coveted future asset: Milwaukee’s 2029 first round pick, the only one they can trade for the next two years (outside of being able to send freshly-used picks on draft day every other year).
Mike Conley likely makes too much money this season — his $22.6 million salary is tough for Milwaukee to reach without giving up a key rotation player, and at that point getting Conley isn’t worth it. That’s likely the biggest reason the Bucks didn’t snag Bojan, by the way, as he’s on a $19.5 million expiring contract. You start to reach needing to include Brook Lopez or convince Utah to sign Jordan Nwora to a pretty unreasonable contract when you get that high.
Jordan Clarkson at $13.3 million is much easier to reach salary-wise, as is Rudy Gay at $6 million. Unfortunately the Bucks are a little late to the party and there aren’t many other vets left on the Jazz roster, unless they’d like to take a shot on 25-year-old Malik Beasley, who does not seem to pass the “no assholes” vibe check.
Lauri Markkanen at $16.4 million is more enticing, especially after a strong summer with the Finnish national team, but Grayson Allen and George Hill combined is not quite enough salary for him, and frontcourt players who don’t defend at a high level aren’t exactly the cleanest fits in Milwaukee. Markkanen’s spacing would definitely be welcome on a team with Giannis Antetokounmpo though, and he’s closer to the Giannis timeline than guys like Clarkson. Him being available in the first place all hinges on how Utah views and values him, which is hard to know.
Overall it seems more likely that the Bucks simply stand pat and go into the season with their current roster, but if they are looking to acquire a veteran or extract something in return for Jordan Nwora the Utah Jazz certainly loom as a willing and ready trade partner.
