The Utah Jazz’s decision to trade away both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell this summer signaled that a rebuild was on the horizon.
Danny Ainge essentially turned his two biggest stars into nine incoming players, seven future first round picks and three future first round swaps.
What lays ahead is a franchise overhaul akin to what the Oklahoma City Thunder have and continue to do.
On a team like what the Jazz have now committed themselves to being, there isn’t much need for veterans like Bojan Bogdanovic. Which is precisely why a trade involving him is all but inevitable at this point.
At the moment, it is widely accepted there are two frontrunners for a possible Bogdanovic swap.
The first contender is the Los Angeles Lakers. Utah has already done one trade with L.A. this summer, and there has been chatter of another occurring.
It goes without saying that the Lakers desperately need three-point shooting. They ranked 17th in three-point attempts, 18th in three-pointers made and 22nd in three-point percentage last year.
Over the course of his lengthy NBA career Bogdanovic has averaged 15 points per game on nearly 40 percent shooting from beyond the arc. He would immediately plug one of the two holes L.A. needs to fill this summer.
Unfortunately, there is no way to make this happen without the Lakers giving up a first round pick. Time will tell if that price proves to be too hefty.
If not Los Angeles, the Phoenix Suns are the other frontrunner to land Bogdanovic.
According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, the Suns have already had conversations about the sharpshooter.
This would be an undeniably risky trade for Phoenix with Bogdanovic on a $19.3 expiring deal that will inevitably result in Utah demanding picks and salary cap relief, but a win-now move that championship squads have to sometimes make.
The Suns floundered badly in the playoffs last season and in their pursuit of Kevin Durant. There has been rumors of a big trade with the Lakers, but nothing beyond that.
Devin Booker has been in the headlines more for his fun times with Kendall Jenner than any substantive on-the-court stuff.
By any objective measure, the Suns need to regain some semblance of momentum heading into the 2022-23 NBA season.
Now that’s a memorable tattoo. https://t.co/RQKD9UllUS
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 3, 2022
Will Bogdanovic’s acquisition be the catalyst for that?
Time will tell.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
