2. Bojan Bogdanovic
Of all the players expected to be made available by the Utah Jazz, Bojan Bogdanovic is without a doubt the most talented. I fully expect his services to be highly coveted as we enter the season, and he’ll almost certainly be dealt to a contender before the trade deadline.
On an expiring $19.5 million deal, Bojan is the ideal type of player to go all-in as his cost should be relatively cheap and there’s very little risk of things blowing back in his new team’s face down the line. Even if he plays poorly, his new team won’t be locked into paying a ton of money for a washed-up wing.
Bogdanovic is far from washed up, however, as the 33-year-old veteran just posted the second-best scoring season of his career last year with the Jazz. Bojan averaged 18.1 and 4.3 rebounds (also a career-high) on 45.5% shooting from the field and 38.7% from deep. With teams paying a hefty premium for role players that can shoot — ex. Duncan Robinson, Joe Harris, Luke Kennard, and Doug McDermott — Bojan might actually be slightly undervalued at that price tag.
If Patrick Williams hasn’t taken that final leap to prove he can be a starting-caliber player in the NBA, reshuffling the deck to get a player like Bogdanovic in the starting lineup with Williams coming off the bench seems like a wise move.
Unfortunately, his salary means the Bulls would almost certainly have to get a third team involved in any trade package or include Nikola Vucevic in the deal, with each scenario posing a significant roadblock. Although Bojan would be a great fit in Chicago, this is the primary reason why he doesn’t claim the top spot on this list.