Pistons exchange Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic to the Knicks.
Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks were acquired by the New York Knicks from the Detroit Pistons on Thursday in exchange for guards Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, and Ryan Arcidiacono as well as two second-round picks.
With injuries to OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, and Julius Randle, New York hopes to finish in the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference. Adding two veterans who can enter the rotation right away will help strengthen the club. The team later on Thursday revealed that Anunoby will be sidelined for at least three weeks following surgery to remove a loose bone fragment in his right elbow.
With Randle out, 34-year-old Bogdanovic, who averaged 20.2 points and shot 41.5% from 3-point range for Detroit this season, will take over as the team’s starting power forward right away. Once their injured players start playing again, Bogdanovic, a dynamic scorer and shooter, will help relieve some of the strain on All-Star Jalen Brunson and provide the Knicks with extra scoring off the bench.
Additionally, Bogdanovic’s contract for the upcoming season is partially guaranteed, so the Knicks may decide to keep him on the team or let him go based on their salary constraints.
Before agreeing to a contract with the Pistons, Burks, 32, played for New York for the 2020–21 and 2020–22 seasons. In his first season, he averaged 12.7 points, while in his second, he scored 11.7. Burks averaged 12.6 points and shot 40.1% from three-point range on 5.7 tries per game in 43 games for Detroit this season.
Grimes, 23, was chosen by New York with the 25th pick in the 2021 NBA draft. He started for the Knicks for the majority of the previous campaign before being benched late this year. However, as a career 37.9% 3-point shooter on five attempts per game, he should fit in nicely on the wing for the Pistons, a team that needs shooting.
After being cut from Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau’s starting lineup the previous season, Fournier, 31, has only made three appearances this season. If he manages to shake free from Detroit, he has a team option for the next season and would be a valuable player for rival teams on the buyout market.
In the Anunoby deal with Toronto last month, Flynn had just moved to New York, and Arcidiacono had only played 20 games this season for New York as a mop-up player off the bench with zero points.
The Athletic’s Fred Katz revealed that the organization signed Gibson to a new deal after his initial 10-day one ended. Gibson played 13 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday and 22 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, as the frontcourt was severely damaged by the injuries to Julius Randle and Isaiah Hartenstein.
