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0 In a major trade, the New York Knicks have acquired veterans Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from the Detroit Pistons. In exchange, the Knicks are sending four players and two future second-round picks to the Pistons. The trade was announced on Thursday, and it is expected to have a significant impact on the Knicks’ outlook in the Eastern Conference.
The deal brings two valuable perimeter scorers to the Knicks. Bogdanovic is shooting an impressive 41.5% on 3-pointers this season and is on track to make 150 3-pointers for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. He is averaging 20.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game this season, while logging an average of 32.9 minutes per game.
Burks, on the other hand, will be making his second tour with the Knicks, having played for them from 2020-22 as a valuable reserve. This season, he is averaging 12.6 points per game, 2.6 rebounds per game, and 1.6 assists per game.
The Knicks are currently playing without their entire starting frontcourt of All-Star Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson, due to injuries. Therefore, they have been looking for ways to replace some of the bench scoring they lost when they dealt Immanuel Quickley to Toronto along with RJ Barrett in the deal for Anunoby in December.
The latest trade could give the Knicks the boost they need to break free of a three-way logjam with Cleveland and Milwaukee for the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference, behind Boston. The Knicks are 16-3 since Anunoby joined the starting lineup on January 1.
The Pistons, on the other hand, have acquired four players and two future second-round picks in exchange for Bogdanovic and Burks. Grimes, who is currently injured, may be the most valuable prospect of the group acquired by the Pistons. He has mostly fallen out of the rotation in New York this season, but he is still averaging 7.3 points per game, 2 rebounds per game, and 1.2 assists per game in 20.2 minutes per game. He had a breakout run in 2022-23 (11.3 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, and 2.1 assists per game) and was the 25th pick of the 2021 NBA Draft.
Flynn has only been with the Knicks for 14 games, as he was traded to New York in the Barrett deal with the Toronto Raptors on December 30. He is averaging 2.2 points per game in 4.3 minutes per game with the Knicks. Arcidiacono and Fournier have played sparingly this season.
Detroit has been busy trading this season. On Wednesday, it reportedly agreed to two separate trades, sending guard Monte Morris to the Minnesota Timberwolves and also trading for Utah Jazz forward Simone Fontecchio. Earlier in the season, the Pistons dealt Marvin Bagley III and Isaiah Livers to the Washington Wizards for Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala.
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