Trade #4: Immanuel Quickley and Evan Fournier for Bojan Bogdanovic and a first-round pick
Similar to the Harrison Barnes trade, I would love to have a player like Bojan Bogdanovic on the Knicks, however, not for Immanuel Quickley. Again, New York would have to move on from another member of the team in order to give Bogdanovic proper minutes.
While in this situation the Knicks would move on from Quickley and keep Rose, it would make the rotation very weird. In the year 2022-23, running Bogdanovic at the three is not ideal, and since Obi Toppin and Julius Randle both run the four, this would make things a little odd in New York’s rotation.
Let’s say that the Knicks pull this off, or the Barnes deal off, they would likely have to run Cam Reddish at the two off the bench and either Bogdanovic or Barnes at the three. While Barnes is a much better fit at the position, Bogdanovic should not see extensive minutes at that spot due to his lack of perimeter defense.
Before the start of the season, I proposed a trade that would have sent Julius Randle to the Jazz for Bogdanovic. This is a trade that would make more sense, as not only would Bogdanovic get to play his natural position, but there would be no issues in the rotation.
Despite Vertsberger saying that Detroit would be throwing an unprotected future first-round pick into this deal, I highly doubt that this would be the case, as the team is still a year or two away from contention.
Not only do I doubt the Pistons’ willingness to move on from a key veteran like Bogdanovic, but to move on from a player as valuable as Quickley to put a player in a position he shouldn’t be playing just isn’t wise.
All-in-all this is just an unrealistic trade for both sides. Bogdanovic would be nice, but only if he is playing the proper position and is traded for the correct pieces.
Verdict: Pass