NBA Trade Grades: Knicks Bolster Rotation With Bojan Bogdanović
The New York Knicks were not done dealing.
A few weeks after acquiring OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors, the Knicks remained active at the NBA trade deadline, scooping up forward Bojan Bogdanović from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono and two second-round picks, per multiple reports. Alec Burks will be headed to New York in the deal as well.
Bogdanović, who will turn 35 in April, is averaging 20.2 points per game this season. Grimes, who has not played since Jan. 30, is a career 37.9% three-point shooter.
Let’s grade the deal.
[NBA Trade Deadline Tracker: Stay on top of the latest moves]
Knicks: A
Love this deal for New York. Bogdanović is an accomplished perimeter scorer with 47 games of playoff experience under his belt. He gives the Knicks another great option on the wing and is somebody who won’t feel the pressure of the big moments the team anticipates being in later this year.
Bogdanović gives the Knicks’ lineup flexibility and adds playoff experience.
Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports
Paired with Anunoby on the outside, New York suddenly has great lineup flexibility. What about a Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Anunoby, Bogdanović and Julius Randle lineup? Or sub Randle out for any one of the team’s gritty bigs. Or take Hart out for a big and surround Brunson with immense size. The Knicks are now better suited to playing multiple styles of basketball, which will be key for matching up against the other top teams in the East.
At worst, Bogdanović gives them another big-bodied efficient scorer who is overqualified to come off the bench. Only seven players are averaging at least 20 points while shooting at least 46% from the field and 41% from three. The Knicks now have two of them: Brunson and Bogdanović.
Plus, the Knicks not giving up any first-round picks in this AND the Anunoby deal? That’s the icing on the cake, especially as future stars loom.
Pistons: C+
Grimes seems like he could be a really solid role player on a good team. The problem is the Pistons aren’t a good team. And it may be fair to say Monty Williams hasn’t exactly shown the most patience with some of the younger players on the roster. Grimes should get an opportunity in Detroit, though, with veterans leaving via trade and the team needing general competence.
It’s also a little surprising the Pistons weren’t able to extract a single first-round pick for Bogdanović, though maybe they ultimately valued a more known quantity in Grimes than the uncertainty of the draft. Not a bad deal for Detroit, but perhaps a little underwhelming considering how much value Bogdanović should add to his next team.
