The Pistons and Knicks are finalizing a trade that will send Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to New York in exchange for Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono, and two second-round picks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Bogdanovic (41.5%) and Burks (40.1%) are two strong three-point shooters who will help bolster New York’s rotation, particularly when it comes to scoring and spacing the floor. Burks, 32, is an impending unrestricted free agent, while Bogdanovic’s $19M salary for 2024/25 is only partially guaranteed for $2M.
However, as Fred Katz of The Athletic reports, the Knicks are expected to fully guarantee Bogdanovic’s contract for next season, possibly to flip him to a new team in the summer or during the 2024-25 season. Burks, meanwhile, was the favorite of head coach Tom Thibodeau during his first stint in New York from 2020-22, Katz observes.
Once the deal is official, the Knicks will have two open roster spots and will be about $2.5M below the luxury tax threshold, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. They’ll have plenty of flexibility to sign players on the buyout market, Marks observes, since they’re well below the first tax apron.
Flynn cannot be aggregated with other salaries in a trade, but the outgoing contracts of Grimes, Fournier and Arcidiacono are just enough to cover the money owed to Bogdanovic and Burks. That means the Knicks will create a traded player exception worth $3,873,025, which is Flynn’s cap hit.
According to Ian Begley of SNY.TV, the Knicks were motivated to add depth on the wing in part due to concern over OG Anunoby‘s right elbow injury. As Begley notes, New York recently changed Anunoby’s injury status from elbow inflammation to bone spur irritation. Anunoby has missed the past five games with the injury and will miss his sixth straight contest tonight against Dallas.
As for the Pistons, they’ve been extremely active leading up to the 2:00 p.m. CT deadline, and they will need to cut two players to complete this trade.
James Edwards III of The Athletic hears rival teams were unwilling to meet Detroit’s asking price for Bogdanovic, and the Pistons felt Grimes was more valuable than any picks being offered. According to Edwards, the Knicks “have been unwilling to trade firsts to any team,” with New York likely saving its draft arsenal to chase a star player in the future.
Grimes, 23, is in the third season of his rookie scale contract and was reportedly open to a change of scenery after having his role reduced in 2023/24. He showed plenty of 3-and-D upside last season, however, averaging 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists while frequently defending opposing teams’ top perimeter scorers. He’ll make $4.3M next season and will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the 2024 offseason.
While Grimes was a regular contributor for New York, Fournier, Flynn and Arcidiacono hardly played at all for the Knicks. Fournier has been openly seeking a trade for well over a year — his wish was finally granted, but it’s unclear if he’ll have a role for the Pistons. They’ll hold a $19M team option on his contract for next season, which could be useful for salary-matching purposes in the future if they decide to retain him.
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