Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz played general manager on Thursday and came up with a trade idea that would relieve the New York Knicks of Evan Fournier, but it would also cost them a crucial element to their future.
Swartz suggested the Knicks give up Fournier and a top-10 protected 2024 first round pick for Detroit Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanović.
Fournier is entering the third year of his 4-year, $73 million contract with the Knicks and is guaranteed over $18.8 million in 2023-24. His club option the following year would be a guaranteed $19 million.
Bogdanović signed a two-year, $39 million contract starting in 2023-24.
While their remaining contract values are similar, their performances last season weren't.
Bogdanović averaged 21.6 points per game on 48.8 percent from the field, including 41.1 percent from downtown.
After starting the year as the Knicks' primary shooting guard, Fournier was replaced by Quentin Grimes early in the year and fell out of head coach Tom Thibodeau's nine-man rotation shortly after that. Fournier appeared in only 14 games after Nov. 15 and no postseason contests despite the Knicks' issues from deep.
In that limited playing time, Fournier went from shooting 41.7 percent in 2021-22 to an abysmal 33.7 percent this past season.
A new location may be just what he needs to return to his 2021-22 form. However, it'll cost the Knicks their top-10 protected in next year's draft.
The Knicks have saved up a plethora of picks that they never used for Donovan Mitchell last summer, so losing one protected first wouldn't be too detrimental. The Knicks were also a playoff team last season, so they aren't exactly desperate.
The Pistons, on the other hand, tied for the NBA's second worst record in 2022-23. They can definitely use a protected early pick for their future.
In the end, the Knicks would receive a talented shooter, but give up a player who was very solid in 2021-22, yet struggled even when healthy this past season. They'd lose a high pick in next year's draft as well, but they have enough in storage to let one go.
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