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UPDATED WITH TRADE REACTION - 4:59PM 6/30/19
The Utah Jazz have got their stretch four. Bojan Bogdanovic has signed a four year $73 million contract with the Utah Jazz. This means—presumably—that the Utah Jazz are losing Derrick Favors.
Indiana's Bojan Bogdanovic has agreed to a four-year, $73M deal with the Utah Jazz, league sources tells EPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
While Utah had $17.4 million dollars in cap space if they released Derrick Favors, there’s still the remaining 1 million dollars is going to come from. Presumably Utah will have to find a suitor for Tony Bradley.
With the move, the Jazz will have to say goodbye to Derrick Favors. Very tough day for the organization, but a move the Jazz clearly felt was needed
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) June 30, 2019
Reaction
Who says no one wants to sign in Utah? While this isn’t a Tobias Harris like move, this is a big time move none the less. This gives the Jazz big time shooting from the four position and allows Utah to space out the floor for Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert to wreck the paint. Utah now has a VERY formidable championship contender that will give opposing defenses a lot of heartburn.
Post Victor Oladipo trade, Bojan averaged 20 points a game and didn’t just keep the Pacers treading water in the Eastern Conference, but helped lead the Indiana Pacers to 48 wins. Utah now has three players—Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, and Bojan Bogdanovic—who can put the ball on the floor and get buckets.
Many feel Utah now is a force to be reckoned with.
Once Nikola Mirotic made a surprising decision to return to Europe, new Jazz GM Justin Zanik pivoted and made a strong push to sign Bogdanovic out of Indiana. In his first few months as GM, Zanik has landed Mike Conley and Bogdanovic. Jazz are a legitimate Western contender now.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
As of right now — I think I’m personally enjoying the Jazz offseason the most. Conley-Bogdanovic are going to make that team really fun to watch. And a legitimate contender.
— Jay Wallis (@KVUEJayWallis) June 30, 2019
Utah Jazz with a good looking roster rn. Too bad their center suck
— Evan Fournier (@EvanFourmizz) June 30, 2019
The Jazz are the 2019-20 season's NBA Finals dark horse. With Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic joining Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and Joe Ingles, they have a deep, versatile team that's far more potent on offense and will again be elite defensively. What a summer for Utah. https://t.co/WIJnZ1HzDn
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) June 30, 2019
For those who wondered how Justin Zanik would operate as the Utah Jazz’s new general manager, wonder no more. He was aggressive. He landed Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic. He pivoted brilliantly from Nikola Mirotic and may have found a player with a better fit. While it has been a couple years since Bogdanovic has played the four spot, he has never had a defensive anchor like Rudy Gobert helping him.
With Bojan Bogdanovic in place, the biggest key now to Utah’s offseason is filling in roster spots. In this offseason alone Utah has lost Ricky Rubio, Derrick Favors, Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Thabo Sefolosha, Ekpde Udoh, and Grayson Allen. The Utah Jazz drafted three players in the second round, but none have NBA experience nor are probably ready for rotational minutes.
Utah is probably going to be quiet in free agency for a day while the fireworks finish up. Then they’ll start canvassing the secondary free agent market. Time to see who was left after the Woj/Shams rapture.
One person Utah could be after is Jeff Green. But it may be too early to speculate as we don’t know what value plays will be out there after the dust is settled.
One scenario for the remainder of free agency: The Jazz use their room exception on a power forward to be a starter. Expected closing lineup: Conley/Mitchell/Ingles/Bogdanovic/Gobert.....One candidate for the room exception: Jeff Green
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) June 30, 2019
This deal also puts a lot of pressure on Dante Exum and Royce O’Neale. There’s no backup plan now if they don’t produce. Royce struggled to start the season and Utah relied heavily on Thabo Sefolosha when he did. Dante Exum struggled to stay healthy, but luckily Royce O’Neale had improved by that point. These two will be pivotal for this next year.