UTAH JAZZ
Jazz Trade Bogdanovic To Pistons For Olynyk, Lee
Sep 22, 2022, 8:15 AM | Updated: Sep 26, 2022, 8:08 pm
Utah Jazz forward Kelly Olynyk (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz are sending forward Bojan Bogdanovic to the Detroit Pistons for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee.
The trade was reported by both ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
“The Detroit Pistons are finalizing a trade to acquire Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee, sources tell ESPN,” Wojnarowski tweeted early Thursday morning.
The Detroit Pistons are finalizing a trade to acquire Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 22, 2022
The Jazz have been in deconstruction mode after sending Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in July and Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month.
Now, Bogdanovic is the latest Jazz veteran to be traded.
Olynyk is entering his tenth season in the NBA and averaged 9.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists last season for the Pistons. The Gonzaga product was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 13th pick of the 2013 NBA draft under now Jazz CEO Danny Ainge’s tutelage.
The big man has two years and $24 million left on his contract, though his deal in 2023-24 is only partially guaranteed.
Lee, a point guard entering his third season is coming off a difficult second year in which he averaged 5.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists.
Saben Lee dunks all over Willie Cauley-Stein pic.twitter.com/mFQr1OTfdj
— Martin (@ImMartinHi) April 22, 2021
The guard was originally drafted by the Jazz in the second round of the 2020 NBA draft but was traded to the Pistons on draft night along with center Tony Bradley in a salary dumping move.
Lee’s $1.7 million contract is set to expire next summer but has a team option for the 2023-24 season.
Bogdanovic leaves the Jazz after three seasons with the team having played a pivotal role on the roster. The sharpshooting forward averaged 18.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 204 games with the Jazz, all of them starts.
The Croatian scorer hit several clutch shots for the Jazz during his time in Utah providing the team with timely offense and spacing to compliment Mitchell and Gobert, and is one of the best free agents to ever sign with the Jazz.
