Raptors Acquire Ochai Agbaji, Kelly Olynyk From Jazz

Keith Smith
Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertFebruary 08, 2024
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The Toronto Raptors are continuing to reshape their roster, after trading OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam earlier this season. In a deal with the Utah Jazz, the Raptors added a young wing with some upside and a veteran center in exchange for two non-rotation players and a 2024 first-round pick.

Here are the particulars:

Toronto Raptors acquire: Ochai Agbaji, Kelly Olynyk

Utah Jazz acquire: Kira Lewis Jr., Otto Porter Jr., 2024 first-round pick (likely from the Thunder or Clippers)

(Note: This will functionally be two separate trades, since Lewis can’t be aggregated in this deal.)

Let’s dive in!

Toronto Raptors

Incoming salary: $16.3 million in 2023-24

  • Ochai Agbaji (SF/SG, three years, $14.8 million, rookie scale team option in 2025-26), Kelly Olynyk (C/PF, one year, $12.2 million)

Outgoing salary: $12.2 million in 2023-24

  • Kira Lewis Jr. (PG, one year, $5.7 million, restricted free agent in 2024), Otto Porter Jr. (PF/SF, one year, $6.3 million)

Masai Ujiri said he wasn’t tearing the Raptors roster down to rebuild after the OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam trades. Instead, Ujiri is resetting things in Toronto. This trade furthers that strategy.

Effectively, Toronto gave up a very late (probably in the 25-30 range) first-round pick in what is considered a weak 2024 NBA Draft for Agbaji. Considering Agbaji was just the 14th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, that’s not a bad upgrade.

Agbaji is seen as a potential 3&D starting wing. As of right now, the “D” part is well ahead the “3” part of that equation. After an encouraging 36% as a rookie, Agbaji has slipped to 33% this season. If he’s going to make it as a regular starter, he’ll need to bring that up considerably.

As it stands, Agbaji is a good defender and a nice bench player. He fits in the new-look Raptors rotation in that sense. He’s a bit older for a second-year player, as he’s already 23 years old, but Agbaji still has some upside left to discover.

And all of that is before we get to Olynyk.

Adding a veteran center on an expiring contract feels like an odd move for Toronto, but they did this a year ago with Jakob Poeltl. The idea may simply be to get Olynyk, and his Bird Rights, and to re-sign him this summer. That would match the path the Raptors took with Poeltl.

Olynyk brings a dimension that no other Raptors big does. He’s a good perimeter player, as Olynyk can shoot and pass. He’s also a solid roll-man, which Toronto has been lacking this season. He’s a good changeup from Poeltl as a center combo.

If the Raptors retain Olynyk, or turn him into another long-term fit down the line, they’ve done well in this trade. If not, then it’s probably more of a neutral value.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Toronto took on very little future money in this trade. They’re still set up to be a major free agency player with north of $30 million cap space this summer.

Utah Jazz

Incoming salary: $12.2 million in 2023-24

  • Kira Lewis Jr. (PG, one year, $5.7 million, restricted free agent in 2024), Otto Porter Jr. (PF/SF, one year, $6.3 million)

Outgoing salary: $16.3 million in 2023-24

  • Ochai Agbaji (SF/SG, three years, $14.8 million, rookie scale team option in 2025-26), Kelly Olynyk (C/PF, one year, $12.2 million)

We’ve written and said repeatedly that Danny Ainge won’t be seduced by the allure of the Play-In Tournament. If there is a good deal to be made, he’ll make it and let the standings fall where they may. Ainge did it last season, and he’s done it again here.

For Ainge, he acquired another first-round pick for an expiring contract at a position where the Jazz have depth and a player who was blocking a younger player with more upside. In addition, Ainge cleared about $4.3 million in salary off next year’s books.

That’s pretty solid work, even if it potentially weakens Utah’s rotation for the rest of this season.

After trading Simone Fontecchio, and now Agbaji, the runway is clear for Taylor Hendricks to play significant minutes. He’s played well in the G League and is brimming with potential. The Jazz can use the rest of this season to see how he fits in with Lauri Markkanen and others.

Up front, barring further trades, Utah still has Markkanen, John Collins and Walker Kessler in the rotation. They also like Omer Yurtseven and Luka Samanic, who could see some increased minutes too.

It’s unlikely that either Lewis or Porter will play much of a role for the Jazz. In fact, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see either of them waived and allowed to catch on elsewhere.

Keep an eye on Utah continuing to try to clear even more cap space for next summer. They’d like to renegotiate-and-extend Markkanen’s deal, plus have some left over to make other moves. This is a multi-year rebuilding process for the Jazz. Their two (so far!) deadline moves signal that the work is far from complete.

 


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