Rockets: 4 trades to send P.J. Tucker to the Jazz

4. Houston Rockets receive Bojan Bogdanovich

In this trade, the Jazz would part with 3-point specialist Bojan Bogdanovich, who the Rockets are quite familiar with, as he’s dealt Houston a buzzer-beating dagger or two during his short stint in Utah.

BIG. SHOT. BOJAN. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/1wWzd5HFPL

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) February 10, 2020

The idea of Utah trading Bogdanovich might initially seem ludicrous, as his 15.7 points rank fourth-best on the team and his 40.5 percent 3-point shooting clip is fifth-best on the team, but the Jazz need to improve defensively and Bogdanovich is far from a superior defender. In fact, Bogdanovich is allowing 113 points per 100 possessions, which is the worst defensive rating on the entire Jazz roster.

In this deal, Utah would get back both P.J. Tucker, who has led the league in corner threes for the last several seasons and has made 36.5 percent of his threes during his four seasons with the Houston Rockets. Tucker is also a tough, gritty, defensive-minded player that has the ability to take the Jazz over the top, which explains their interest in the unheralded forward.

In addition, the Jazz would receive 6-foot-7 utility player Danuel House, who has the length and defensive ability to be an impact defender, and especially on the wing. The 27-year-old House would also give Utah another long-range shooter, as he’s made 36.9 percent of his triples with the Rockets, and led the team in long-range shooting in 2018-19, at a clip of 41.6 percent.

Tucker’s contract expires at the end of the season and he could be inked to a short-term deal at the end of the season, and would certainly want to remain on a contending team like Utah, especially at this point in his career. House is under contract through 2021-22 at a very team-friendly number of just $3.89 million.

The Rockets would have to include former Jazz guard Dante Exum into the trade package, as his $9.1 million expiring salary would be needed to balance out Bogdanovich’s annual figure of $17.6 million. For this reason, the Rockets would throw in a first-round pick to Utah, which is much easier to do now, after their historic haul of draft picks from the James Harden trade in January.

For the Rockets, they’d land a career 40 percent 3-point shooter who is under contract through 2023, in exchange for Tucker and House, who don’t have a long-term future with the team. For the Jazz, they’d acquire two 3-and-D wings, in addition to a future first-round pick, while also freeing themselves from Bogdanovich’s contract moving forward.

Next: No. 3