Should the Pelicans have been involved in the Bogdanovic trade?

The New Orleans Pelicans made the playoffs last season and are adding Zion Williamson back to the roster, so they are confident in the players they have.

They are building nice chemistry with this group, so it’s fair to ask if it would be worth potentially disrupting it to upgrade the talent with a trade.

But there were some rumblings that the Pelicans might make an offer for Bojan Bogdanovic, who would give them an upgrade of shooting without disrupting their long-term plans, as he is on an expiring deal entering this season.

I worked through a possible trade option for Bogdanovic, one that I thought the Pelicans would consider, as he would upgrade a weakness and they could get him without giving up much.

That possibility is now off the table, as Shams Charania and James Edwards III (among others) reported that Bogdanovic was traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee:

My first reaction was that Detroit just fleeced Utah, as Olynyk isn’t very good and Saben Lee is a borderline G-League player who couldn’t crack the rotation on a team that won 23 games last season.

My second reaction was, that’s it?!? It seems like little to give up for a proven scorer, so why weren’t the New Orleans Pelicans involved?

New Orleans Pelicans have been strangely quiet

I think this shows that the Pels are either very happy with the roster they have, or have a bigger move planned for later in the season, as they absolutely could have put a better deal on the table than the one the Pistons just offered.

Jaxson Hayes and Devonte’ Graham would have given Utah two better players, one of whom is still very young and has a high ceiling, which you’d think Utah would like considering they are clearly tanking.

Bogdanovic would have given the Pelicans a knockdown 3-point shooter, which is something they need, as they really only have CJ McCollum and Graham as high-volume guys and Graham stunk last season. The Pelicans may not have enough shooting, and Bogdanovic would have helped.

The Pels haven’t committed to Hayes long term and Graham has been shopped around already, so if they could have done this deal without giving up a pick it seems like a no-brainer.

But I do think this shows some confidence in Hayes, and also may show that no team wanted to take on Devonte’ Graham which would have probably been necessary to make a deal work.

The Pels missed out on a chance at an upgrade, but have still have one of the deepest rosters in the league and other chances to improve it later in the season.