Quit buzzing over the Knicks killer Bs
Immediate gratification is what we’re told we want, yet the best things come to those who wait. So give the two newest Knicks some time — it’ll be worth it.
On February 8th, the New York Knicks made their final move before the 2024 trade deadline, sending Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier and two second-round picks to Detroit in exchange for Bojan Bogdanović and old friend Alec Burks. Since making the trade, the Knicks have lost five of six games. However, reactions to the deal’s early returns have been far too negative and reactionary. I’m here today to explain why things will look better from here on out.
One obvious takeaway from the Knicks’ recent stretch is the team has been undermanned, with those players who are available stretched thin – not just the Knicks who’ve been here the entire year, but especially the newcomers. In Bogdanović’s four games with New York, he’s averaging 14 points on 47/48/60 splits. Despite barely having time to adjust to a new team, system and home, Bogdanović has gotten complaints about his defense, while Burks gets blamed for not performing in a role that he’s not suited for.
We’ll start with Bogdanović, who in a vacuum is an elite 3-point shooter with underrated playmaking chops who can fit perfectly between stars like Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. He’s not a good defender by any stretch: his -2.4 defensive estimated plus/minus is 12th-worst among all NBA players, with Anfernee Simons the only one below Bogdanović to play more minutes. His defensive limitations should be mitigated when/if the Knicks are healthy.
Offsetting his poor defense, Bogdanović is an elite shooter, nailing 42% from three on seven attempts per game. He also has a 57.1 effective field goal percentage, putting him in the league’s top-third as far as efficiency, while according to Synergy he scores 5.7 points a game on catch-and-shoot attempts. Bogdanović is not only a good scorer, he is an efficient one, the perfect complement to the Knicks’ stars. New York’s spacing thanks to its various elite shooters will only give him more room to cook.
Bogey shouldn’t be limited to strictly playing with both stars, however, as he can slot right into a bench playmaker role alongside pseudo-initiators like Burks and Josh Hart. At 6-foot-7, Bogdanović is a mismatch for most wings and a better playmaker than you may think. Averaging a career-high three assists per game, Bojan is elite as a pick-and-roll ball handler, creating an excellent 1.01 points per possession on 64% true shooting. His playmaking chops will only be amplified alongside the Knicks’ shooters and bigs. Bogey handling some playmaking duties not only makes the Knicks more versatile and difficult to defend, but perhaps most importantly it can allow Brunson a couple extra minutes of rest per game.
Burks has garnered just as much criticism as Bogdanović for his poor play, with some fans recalling his disastrous run at point guard for New York in 2021-22. And this is not to say he is playing well right now. Burks has shot just 33% from the field in this beginning of his second Knicks tenure. But once the team gets healthy, he’ll be relieved of primary ballhandling duties and can go back to what he’s comfortable doing: being an elite long-distance shooter who can create for himself. Per Synergy, Burks is draining 40% from downtown, 42% of his catch-and-shoot 3s and 46% of his shots while guarded. Outside of his 3-point prowess, Burks’ elite 1.4 points per possession on isolations makes him a welcome microwave scorer among a reserve unit that before the trade lacked bench pop outside of the occasional Deuce McBride.
In a vacuum, the Knicks came out of the trade with two elite 3-point shooters, one with underrated playmaking skills and the other a microwave off the bench. Not only can they help the offense as a whole, perhaps most importantly they’ll take some of the weight off of Brunson’s shoulders, as will Randle and OG Anunoby eventually making their long-awaited returns. Although the results haven’t looked too pretty so far, the early returns of James Harden to the Clippers didn’t either, until Los Angeles grew healthier; now healthy and clicking, they’re 33-16 since the deal. You can expect a similar trend for your Knicks: as they continue to get healthier and the minutes normalize, both Bogdanović and Burks will have more defined roles, and you can bet will be key factors in the deep playoff run this Knicks team seems primed to make.
