DETROIT — The Pistons are adding another veteran to their core of young pieces ahead of the start of training camp.
Detroit has agreed to trade big man Kelly Olynyk and guard Saben Lee to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic, a league source confirmed to The Detroit News on Thursday.
Shams Charania and James Edwards III of The Athletic were first to report the deal.
By trading two players to the Jazz, the Pistons open an additional roster spot and acquire the flexibility to sign or acquire another player in the future.
Bogdanovic, 33, is a 6-foot-7 forward who is scheduled to make $19.6 million this season. Olynyk, 31, had two more years on his deal, worth $12.8 million this season and $12.2 in 2023-24. Lee's contract had $1.8 million left for this season and a team option for $1.9 million next year.
Bogdanovic, who's entering his eighth year, was the Jazz's second-leading scorer at 18 points per game last season behind Donovan Mitchell, who was recently traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. A more-than-capable shooter, Bogdanovic also made 38% of his 3-pointers last season.
The 6-11 Olynyk averaged 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 40 games for the Pistons last season. Lee, who's entering his third season in the league, totaled 5.6 points and 3.3 assists during his two seasons with the Pistons.
Bogdanovic's consistency as a scoring threat will now be added to a core group that includes Cade Cunningham, who was recently ranked by ESPN as the No. 35 player in the league, along with Saddiq Bey, rookie Jaden Ivey, Marvin Bagley III and Isaiah Stewart. The Pistons likely will bring Bogdanovic off the bench to serve as a primary scoring option.
With Bogdanovic's addition, the Pistons have 16 guaranteed contracts on their roster.
The Pistons also used $5.6 million in cap space to facilitate this deal, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks, bringing the total outgoing salary amount to $20.27 million to match Bogdanovic's expiring $19.6 contract.
