Quentin Grimes, Alec Burks part of multi-player trade before deadline

The New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons have shaken things up in a major way as the NBA trade deadline nears.

According to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks will be sending Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono, and two second-round picks to Detroit in exchange for veteran guard Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanović.

The Knicks are currently the No. 4 seed Eastern Conference in a tight race and are clearly staying aggressive after acquiring OG Anunoby in the December trade that sent RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a 2024 second-round pick to the Toronto Raptors. Meanwhile, the 7-43 Pistons with the worst record in the NBA are stockpiling assets as they look ahead to the future.

Bogdanović headlines the trade after joining the NBA in 2014 following a successful basketball career overseas in Europe. The Croatian forward has been an effective scorer throughout his career, averaging 20.2 points per game this season representing the third season of his NBA career that he’s averaged 20+ points per game.

He brings 9 years of NBA experience with him to the Big Apple, but not as much as Burks brings, as he’s in the midst of his 13th NBA season after being selected with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft out of Colorado. This will be Burks’ second stint with the Knicks, spending the 2020 and 2021 seasons with New York where he made 130 game appearances and 49 starts averaging 12.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

The Knicks add scoring and experience to their roster that already features 2023-2024 All-Star selections Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. While also parting ways with players that overall have not contributed much to their recent success.

Grimes represents New York’s biggest loss in the trade, the former Kansas and Houston standout who logs 20 minutes per game for the Knicks while averaging 7.3 points per game this season. He’s appeared in 162 games in his three-year Knicks career making 90 starts while shooting 43.6% from the field and 37.9% from three-point range.

Meanwhile Flynn, Fournier, and Arcidiacono have made a combined 37 game appearances for the Knicks this season through 41 games with zero starts. With Flynn averaging 2.2 points per game this season, Fournier appearing in just three games this year, and Arcidiacono not scoring a single point in his 45 minutes played.