Phoenix Suns wanted Vanderbilt in potential Bojan Bogdanovic deal with Jazz

When the Phoenix Suns were discussing potential trades involving Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic, they also wanted wing Jarred Vanderbilt to be included in the deal, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro.

The Athletic’s Tony Jones confirmed Gambadoro’s report of that breaking down the trade talks while adding the Jazz highly value Vanderbilt.

Gambadoro also notes that Suns forward Jae Crowder was included in the discussions.

The 33-year-old Bogdanovic was reported to be available as the Jazz continued to clean house this offseason, trading their two best players in Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Utah also dealt starting guard Royce O’Neale to the Brooklyn Nets at the start of the offseason.

The Detroit Pistons reportedly acquired Bogdanovic on Thursday in exchange for center Kelly Olynyk and guard Saben Lee, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Gambadoro previously reported that the Suns had interest in Bogdanovic, a player that made a lot of sense for what the Suns could look to upgrade for next season’s roster.

Bogdanovic last season averaged 18.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. A career 39.2% 3-point shooter, Bogdanovic has been one of the best shooters in the NBA since he arrived from overseas in 2014. On top of that, his 3.8 free throw attempts a night last year would have ranked second on the Suns.

Vanderbilt, 23, has quickly established himself as one of the most versatile defensive players in the league, a 6-foot-9 wing with long arms that can hold his own against the majority of the possible matchups he could see on any given night. He’s also a terrific rebounder, which helps make up for his lack of a perimeter shot. He was a part of the package the Minnesota Timberwolves sent to Utah for Gobert.

He spent the last two seasons in Minnesota and averaged a career-high 6.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 25.4 minutes per game. Vanderbilt has attempted a total of 21 three-pointers but makes up for it with a hyper-efficient 58.7% on field goals.

Crowder has used social media here and there this offseason to be cryptic about his future in Phoenix. He liked an image on Twitter of him playing for the Dallas Mavericks, liked a tweet from a Miami Heat reporter calling Crowder a possible Heat trade target and pinned an Instagram comment from a Heat fan telling the franchise that fans want Crowder back in Miami.

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