Getty Bojan Bogdanovic being guarded by Buddy Hield.
The New York Knicks are finalizing a deal that will land Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic of the Detroit Pistons, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN on February 8.
The Knicks will trade Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono, and two second-round picks to the Pistons. The Knicks land two of the best scorers on the market to load up for their playoff push.
According to Jonathan Macri of KnickFilmSchool, Flynn is in a separate trade and goes into a Detroit exception.
“They don’t need Flynn to make the money work, so he’ll be a separate trade and go into a Detroit exception to keep the Knicks below the tax. Ducks the aggregation issue.”
It was expected that Grimes was going to be traded. He spoke about the trade rumors recently, saying the following, according to Ian Begley of SNY.
“Come in and try to block out distractions as much as you can,” Grimes told SNY. “People are going to talk all the time on social media and all that. But (I’ll) come in, lock in on the game plan for whoever we’re playing, try to get better every day, just try to block the noise, contribute to any way I can every time, every game.”
He now gets his opportunity to shine in a different role with a team that can use all the possible help.
For the Knicks, they land two bench scorers and someone who has familiarity with the city. Burks has spent time with the Knicks, playing as a member of the team from 2020-2022. Bogdanovic played with the Brooklyn Nets for three seasons, too.
The New York Knicks Showed Interest in Both Players
The interest for Burks and Bogdanovic was there from the New York Knicks throughout the season. It was obvious that they wanted to add a veteran player and these two give them exactly that. The exact role for both is yet to be seen, although coming off the bench seems logical. Bogdanovic has been a starter in every season since 2017-18, so this would be a new role for him.
Burks is used to playing off the bench and not much should change in terms of that.
He had a bigger role in New York than he did for most of the past decade, playing 28.6 minutes in 2021-22, but that shouldn’t be the case this time around.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported the New York Knicks interest in Burks earlier this season.
“The Knicks are doing their due diligence and looking at various players across the league,” Scotto says. “(That includes) Hornets guard Terry Rozier, Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon, former Tom Thibodeau favorite Alec Burks, sources said. In addition, the Knicks are surveying the trade market for a backup power forward, league sources told HoopsHype.”
How Burks & Bogdanovic Help the Knicks
With the injuries that the Knicks are facing, too, adding two scorers makes sense. With Julius Randle being sidelined for at least the next few weeks with his shoulder injury and OG Anunoby dealing with an arm injury, Burks and Bogdanovic can help them on the offensive side of the basketball.
Burks comes to the New York Knicks after averaging 12.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists for the Pistons in 21 minutes per game. He’s shooting 40.1% from three-point range on 5.7 attempts per game.
The 34-year-old Bogdanovic is averaging 20.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 41.5% from three-point range on 7.4 attempts per game.