The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, with the Knicks having made a trade that has significantly upgraded the roster.
They agreed to a deal with the Pistons, receiving Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks in exchange for Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono and two second-round picks.
“We’re thrilled to add Bojan Bogdanovic to the Knicks family and welcome back Alec Burks,” said team president Leon Rose in a statement. “Bojan brings a tremendous amount of basketball experience to our team, both from the NBA and internationally. He is an elite scorer who has solidified himself as one of the best shooters in NBA, which will complement our team. Alec played an integral role throughout our 2020-21 playoff season, understands and embraces the culture here, and will bring a lot of value to our group.
We’d like to extend our deepest thanks to Evan, Malachi, Quentin, and Ryan for their contributions both on and off the court as well as their professionalism and hard work. We wish all of them nothing but the best moving forward.”
The Knicks have been one of the hottest teams in the league since acquiring OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa from the Toronto Raptors back in December.
New York has a 12-2 record, despite facing injuries recently. Julius Randle is out with a dislocated shoulder and Anunoby is dealing with bone spurr irritation.
Bogdanovic is an important addition for the Knicks’ bench depth. He’s a reliable veteran who is averaging 20.2 points per game on 46.8% from the field. For two straight seasons he’s been one of the Pistons’ top scoring options.
With the addition of Burks, the Knicks acquire a player who’s already familiar with Tom Thibodeau’s system. Burks was a Thibodeau favorite during his first tenure in New York. This season he’s averaging 12.6 points per game on 39.4% from the field.
The Knicks have a current overall record of 33-18 and are the fourth seed in the eastern conference. They now look to get healthy for what they hope will be a deep playoff run.
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Featured photo courtesy of NBA.com.