From out of the blue, the Detroit Pistons acquire Bojan Bogdanovic from the Utah Jazz in what is a somewhat confusing move.
The expectation was that Bojan Bogdanovic would eventually be traded at some point before the NBA Trade Deadline. That much was assumed after the Utah Jazz traded both Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert this summer. However, the Detroit Pistons (who acquired Bogdanovic from the Jazz in exchange for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee) are somewhat of a confusing suitor.
The Pistons are not a contender and will be lucky to be in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference this season. He will absolutely help the team both on and off the floor, but the expectation was that a contender would be the landing spot for Bogdanovic.
Of course, unless, the Pistons saw the potential value that he could hold down the line – perhaps at the trade deadline.
Could the Detroit Pistons trade Bojan Bogdanovic again this season?
Bogdanovic will help the Pistons. On paper, he’ll be an upgrade at the wing position or off the bench, however, the team elects to use him. And in the locker room, he’ll help in mentoring the team’s young players. But this feels like a move that could be the precursor of another move.
Perhaps the Pistons made this trade because they want to see if they could flip Bogdanovic later in the season for an additional asset or first-round pick – after all, Olynyk and Lee are not part of the blueprint in Detroit.
Essentially, the Pistons got Bogdanovic for free. Perhaps Utah didn’t want to take his salary into the season and decided to part ways as soon as possible. Though it is somewhat odd that they couldn’t find a team offering a first-round pick.
Nevertheless, perhaps Detroit was willing to roll the dice on that risk.
There’s a scenario where Bogdanovic starts the season red hot and an injury takes place for a contender and said contender gets desperate and makes a better offer for Bogdanovic than the Jazz were able to find.
I’m somewhat surprised the Jazz didn’t wait on pulling the trigger, but perhaps it’s something that the Pistons will be able to take advantage of down the line. We shall see.