The New York Knicks can do no wrong lately.
After all the wrong decisions they have made in the past seasons, they are now trending upwards because of the decisions made by the front office.
The Knicks, one of the hottest teams in the league in 2024, beefed up their rotation by acquiring Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from the Detroit Pistons.
Trade details
The team received the two players in exchange for Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, and fans and players' favorite Ryan Arcidiacono. They also gave up two second-round picks for their new acquisitions.
Before the trade deadline, the Knicks had already acquired one of the top trade targets in the market, OG Anunoby, from the Toronto Raptors. They let go of RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickly to get him.
They went 17-3 since acquiring Anunoby on December 30. They are now fourth in the Eastern Conference standings.
Why is trading for Bogdanovic and Burcs a good move?
The latest move by the Knicks will help them in two ways. The first is to address bench depth, and the second is to have immediate replacements for missing key guys.
The Knicks-Bojan Bogdanovic deal was announced on the same day they learned that Anunoby would be out for at least three weeks due to elbow surgery to repair a loose bone fragment.
He will join Julius Randle (out for three weeks starting at the end of January) and Mitchell Robinson (out for the season) as spectators.
Anunoby is the third-best scorer in the team, with 15.6 per outing. Randle produced 24 PPG before going down with an injury.
Read more: Clippers Find Success Topping the West After Slow Start to Season
Detroit may be struggling in the worst way, but Bogdanovic is having a career season despite missing the start of the season.
He averages 20.2 points, with 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 28 games.
The 34-year-old Croatian forward could supplement what they are missing with his offensive prowess and defensive ability. He can be a starter and a target for Jalen Brunson, who loves driving to the lane.
He can slide back to the bench when the injured players return and boost the second unit.
Alec Burks, who was with the Knicks from 2000 to 2002, could be a great contributor off the bench. He averaged 12.6 points for the Pistons in 43 games. He shot 40.1% from 3-point range on 5.7 attempts per game.
In terms of contract, Bogdanovic has a partially guaranteed deal for the 2024 season. That means the Knicks have the call to keep or trade him again, depending on his performance and salary. This is a good feature based on the age of the player.
What did the Knicks lose?
Fournier and coach Tim Thibodeau never saw eye to eye this season, having played just three games this season and just 27 games in 2023. He has been waiting to be freed.
"As long as I'm here, it'll be like that (not play)," Fournier said in an interview with Emmanuel Laurin from BasketUSA.
"I've known this for a long time. I'm waiting, that's all. I'm waiting to see what happens."
The Knicks turned a warm seat into a role player they can use any time.
Grimes, 23, used to be a starter but slid down to the bench partly because of the rise of Donte DiVincenzo.
Flynn was part of the Anunoby deal but barely cracked the rotation, while Arcidiacono, who recently made a record by playing in 20 games without scoring a point, is also let go.
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