It’s a good move. Realistically, Bogdan is not going to move the needle much because while he’s a good player, KO is too (maybe slightly less so). He is a great fit roster wise because this team needs is missing a 3 pt shooting 4. It’s still not going to be a good team and the Pistons will be happy with the top pick they get, but trying to build a cohesive basketball team is never a bad idea.
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Yeah I think probably Olynyk wasn’t in line for as much playing time as Bojan will be and the offense will just be more functional w a real spacer on the wing. Hard to make the pick and pop a big driver of the offense if the only guys who can shoot are involved in the pick and pop. So I would guess this made them at least a little better. But is that 5 more wins? I doubt it. But it could be 2-3? I’ll guess more like 1 tho.
Wonder how much the Vegas futures numbers will move on this deal.
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I think they will probably be better than people think. They have added 3-4 rotation guys in Burks/Bogdanovic/Ivey/Noel I guess you could include Livers in that mix as well since he was only active for 17 games. They won 23 games last year I think they are around 30-34 wins.
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Bojan is a starter level wing who is a very good 3 point shooter on an expiring deal. That’s a really valuable asset to have at the trade deadline. Much more valuable than KO. With a high salary too, Weaver has options. Trade him to a contender for other expiring deals and a pick or young player to move him to a team looking to dump salary for a good player on a longer deal. I doubt Detroit would just let him walk in free agency, so my guess is he’s a half season rental they turn into picks or younger players at the deadline.
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Bojan! Bogdan is a Hawk!
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Don’t forget about Boban!!!
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Detroit will still be terrible this year, imo. I would be shocked if they made the play-in.
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Depends on your definition of terrible. I’d agree they won’t be over .500 like the 9/10 play-in teams were last year, but I also don’t think they will be one of the 3-5 worst teams in the NBA like last year. I think it’s a team that is trending up and could be 11-12 in the East. A lot may depend on just how good Cade is in his second year though.
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Detroit will be in the 25-32 win range, IMO. Well outside the play-in range. They are really young and the East is shockingly good. Milwaukee, Boston, Brooklyn, Philly, Cleveland, Atlanta, Miami, and Chicago are 8 teams clearly better than Detroit. Toronto was the 5 seed last year. The Knicks had an active offseason. The Wizards probably got better. Detroit is in that bottom 3 of the conference with Orlando and the Pacers and Charlotte is a big unknown depending what happens with Bridges.
The only way the play-in is possible is if Cade makes an All Star leap and Ivey comes in more ready than expected. It’s possible, but highly unlikely still.
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FYI the Vegas O/U is 29.5 wins. They won 23 last year and the roster is quite a bit better this year IMO. Agree that the East is very deep now though so that’s a lot of teams to try to climb over and no teams that roster dumped like several teams did out West.
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Have to give Weaver his due. Amazing move. I think it’s reasonable for Detroit to be past the point of tanking. Maybe you could argue it’s better to tank one more year, but they already have 4ish starters of the future identified. I think it’s completely fine to trust your scouting and just roll forward while giving those guys the optimal opportunities to develop.
PG - Cade - Killian / Cojo
SG - Ivey - Burks
SF - Bey - Livers
PF - Bagley / Bogdanovic
C - Stewart - Duren / Noel
I think this team could contend for the play-in. A ton of variance there, but it has a good mix of young guys and vets that fit a role effectively
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Feels like Utah could have gotten more for him. They’re tanking but didn’t get any picks?
I’ve seen some reports from team beat writers that Ainge was asking for more for Bojan from both the Lakers and Suns. So might have been spite-based where he took a worse haul to prevent teams he disliked from getting better, lol
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Who in the East are the Pistons clearly better than?
Hard to say how many teams they are clearly better than because we don’t know:
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How good is 2nd year Cade? Is he an All-Star caliber player or slightly improved from last year?
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How good is Ivey as a rookie?
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What do the Pistons look like now that they actually have some floor spacers and athletes around Cade? Last year’s team had almost no shooting, but they added a couple veteran 40% 3 point shooters who can score a little bit. They also added Ivey and Duren who are immediately more athletic than anyone on the roster.
Team should look way different this year, which means a TBD of what that could look like. I could see the Pistons being as good or better than any of the following: Orlando, Indiana, Washington, NYK, Charlotte (minus Bridges).
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I think they are better that the Wizards and Magic and Indiana for sure
Assuming Bridges doesn’t play, Charlotte too
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Yeah I think the Pistons are probably the 11th best team in the East. So only one of the Bulls, Cavs or Knicks have to fall off for the Pistons to make the play in.
I’d put them in a tier with Washington and Indiana and I guess Charlotte
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For a team that is up and coming. Play-in game isn’t a bad outcome. As long as they continue to get better with experience, the trajectory should be on the upward. I would be fine with a play-in game but won’t shed tears if they miss the playoff.
No one. Maybe Magic and Indiana
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