Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks to Knicks in Trade Deadline Deal, Quentin Grimes to Detroit
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons have agreed to a deal before the trade deadline that will send Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to Manhattan.
Wojnarowski further reports that the deal will send Quentin Grimes to the Motor City, as well as Ryan Arcidiacono, Malachi Flynn, Evan Fournier, and two future second-round picks.
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With the deal, the Knicks obtain two vital veterans for a potentially lucrative spring run: the 32-year-old Burks is back in New York after spending two seasons under head coach Tom Thibodeau (2020-22) while Bogdanovic, 34, has been on a scoring tear over his last two seasons (averaging 21.1 points on over 48 percent from the floor).
Both Bogdanoivc and Burks come at a vital time on the metropolitan timeline: while New York (33-18) has flourished in the new year, injuries have decimated the lineup: starters Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson are out indefinitely while fellow newcomer OG Anunoby is set to miss his sixth game on Thursday night due to an elbow issue. The Knicks are also holding their breath for an update on star attraction Jalen Brunson, who is listed as questionable for Thursday's visit from the Dallas Mavericks (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT) after rolling his ankle two days prior against Memphis.
The obvious headliner in the Knicks' package is Grimes, the third-year man and first-round pick from the 2021 draft. Grimes began the year as the Knicks' primary shooting guard but lost that role to Donte DiVincenzo earlier this season. Grimes was also a part of the Knicks' rash of medical issues, as he had missed each of the last three games with a knee injury. Even though Grimes found a slight groove off the bench (averaging 12.7 points in his last four appearances), he never found a lasting presence in the rotation despite Immanuel Quickley's departure for Toronto.
Also departing are Arcidiacono, Flynn, and Fournier.
Arcidiacono, a quintessential 12th man in New York, is involved in a major deal at the deadline for a second year in a row, as he was previously sent to Portland in the trade that acquired Josh Hart from the Pacific Northwest. Flynn's Knicks tenure lasts just 14 games after coming over in the aforementioned Anunoby deal, as he averaged less than five minutes a game in that span. Fournier's time with the Knicks also ends after three seasons, as he set the franchise's single-season record for most successful three-pointers in 2021-22 but spent most of the last two years in exile on the bench.
