The Utah Jazz: Bojan Bogdanović’s mid-season player grade
By Lucas Miller
It’s no secret that the Utah Jazz had themselves quite an off-season. And while there might have been plenty of hype for the arrival of Mike Conley in the Beehive State, it’s Bojan Bogdanović and his three-point shooting that’ve turned heads.
Let’s take a quick walk down memory lane, shall we?
Before the start of the 2019-2020 NBA season, the Utah Jazz found themselves with options. Contrary to what the Jazz franchise is most known for, Justin Zanik and Dennis Lindsey landed themselves a big-name, pricey (by the Jazz’s standards, at least) free agent in Mike Conley.
The two had flirted for the better part of the 2018-2019 season, as the Memphis Grizzlies had shipped Marc Gasol off to the Toronto Raptors and were in full-blown tank mode. As such, it was nice to finally see Conley in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold.
Financially, bringing onboard another max-level player would be possible, but there would need to be some trimming of the Jazz’s 15-man roster. At the time, Tobias Harris, Jimmy Butler, J.J. Redick and Nikola Mitotic were all free agents over which #TakeNote Nation couldn’t help but salivate — the Jazz needed an uptick in shooting, and each of the aforementioned would help.
Enter Bojan Bogdanović, stage left.
Come June 30th, immediate moves were made. That same day, once the dust had settled, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Bogdanović had agreed to a four-year, $73 million deal with the Jazz. Utah had wasted no time in landing the sharp-shooter they desperately needed.
That was over six months ago, though …
During that time, like most NBA teams, the Jazz have had their fair share of highs and lows. How has Bogdanović faired during that time? Has his on-court production met the expectations of Jazz fans and executives? Or, has his play proven a total flop?
Let’s take a closer look …