The Detroit Pistons pulled off a surprising trade Thursday, as they were the winners of the NBA veteran Bojan Bogdanovic sweepstakes. Detroit acquired him from the Utah Jazz in exchange for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee.
The Pistons came out of nowhere to land the sharpshooting forward, as he was linked to several teams but Detroit was not one of them. The Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, and Dallas Mavericks were mentioned most often.
Instead, it was the Pistons who nabbed him, furthering upgrading the supporting cast around their young core. Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and Jaden Ivey, the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s draft, make for a very explosive backcourt but the team needed to build up the supporting cast around them.
One NBA scout that talked to NBA Analysis Network really likes the work that general manager Troy Weaver has done. He believes they are building around their franchise player in the right way.
“Detroit has done a great job adding pieces around Cade over the last few months. Ivey could be a great secondary ball handler, and now they have a veteran wing scorer that can really shoot it. That’s a great way to build around a guy like Cade.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Bojan Bogdanovic, Utah Jazz & Detroit Pistons Updates
In addition to Bogdanovic, the team also acquired Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel from the New York Knicks in a trade earlier this season in which the Knicks were looking to clear cap space to sign Jalen Brunson in free agency.
Burks, like Bogdanovic, will help the team a ton in the 3-point shooting department. As the scout pointed out, that was a real weakness for the Pistons last season and Bogdanovic will help turn that around.
“The Pistons were one of the worst spot-up teams in the NBA last season. They needed to add more shooting. Bogdanovic will help a lot. He’s also a guy they can use in off-ball actions and trust as another option to run a high pick-and-roll or get an iso bucket sometimes. He adds a lot of layers they didn’t have before this trade.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Bojan Bogdanovic, Utah Jazz & Detroit Pistons Updates
This roster is coming together nicely as there are some high-upside youngsters, such as the aforementioned Cunningham and Ivey, but also Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and 2022 first-round pick Jalen Duren. Adding a veteran of Bogdanovic’s caliber to that core will help them develop as he can take a lot of pressure off of them.
