New York Knicks fans were on edge after ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the team was sending Quentin Grimes and two second-round picks to the Pistons for Alec Burks. It was a wild few minutes wondering if Burks' value was really that high until the rest of the deal was reported.
Along with Grimes and the two picks, New York sent Malachi Flynn, Evan Fournier, and Ryan Arcidiacono to Detroit. What did the Knicks get in return along with Burks? Bojan Bogdanovic!
Full trade, per ESPN Sources:
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2024
Knicks: Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks
Pistons: Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono and two second-round picks.
Technically, Flynn can't be aggregated in a trade with another player since New York acquired him in late December, so when the dust settles, it'll be broken into two separate transactions.
The Knicks-Pistons trade will get broken up into two trades, since Malachi Flynn can’t have his salary aggregated.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 8, 2024
Likely structure
-Flynn for Burks
-Everyone else for Bogdanović
TPEs could be created on either side, pending final structure.
New York got another ball handler in Burks and a source of shooting in Bogdanovic, who shot 41.5% from three in Detroit this season. He's a clear upgrade over Fournier, who hadn't been in the rotation for the past year and a half.
This Knicks squad is the best fans have seen in the past couple of decades, and the front office strengthened the roster without losing a first-round pick — quite the upgrade.
Updated Knicks depth chart after Alec Burks, Bojan Bogdanovic trade with Pistons
PG: Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride
SG: Donte DiVincenzo, Alec Burks
SF: OG Anunoby, Josh Hart
PF: Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic, Precious Achiuwa
C: Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jericho Sims
New York's main priority is getting healthy before the playoffs (Randle, Anunoby, and Robinson are all dealing with injuries), but when that happens, this team will make some noise in the playoffs. Eastern Conference contenders should be worried not only about the Knicks' depth but also about how the team still possesses their treasure chest of first-round draft picks.
This trade gets an A++++! Throw in a few more pluses in there, too.