It's way too early to judge Knicks' trade for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks
We’re almost two weeks removed from the trade deadline, and despite arguably making the biggest move of the day, the Knicks have lost some of their post-trade luster in that time.
New York dealt Quentin Grimes, their promising but unhappy youngster, cap fodder and a second round pick for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.
Burks has only appeared in three games (all losses) against the Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets, and Orlando Magic, while Bogdanovic missed the Orlando matchup. That game marked five losses out of their last six for the Knicks, drawing the ire of some fans -- with a fair share pointed at Bogdanovic and Burks.
It must be noted that New York has been without three starters, not including Mitchell Robinson, throughout this stretch, sporadically missing additional heads as well. Burks and Bogdanovic have essentially zero chemistry with what the finalized rotation is supposed to look like, and have been trying to contribute while learning the ropes.
They’re still adjusting to their new team -- Bogdanovic has averaged 13 points on poor shooting, while Burks is at 13.3, hitting 39 percent of his threes but struggling from inside the arc. Both haven’t looked great defensively, where the Knicks have certainly missed Grimes these last few games.
Still, it’s far too early to judge this trade. It was made to beef up the bench for a playoff run, not save the Knicks from a mass injury event -- so failing at the latter means little.
No trade comes with a seamless transition. Even bringing in OG Anunoby, while resulting in a winning streak, needed a transition period.
Anunoby was originally lost in the offense, just cutting where he could for the first handful of games. Eventually, he learned the sets and Tom Thibodeau began running some for him, integrating him into the offense and resulting in some nice performances.
Bogie and Burks aren’t as pivotal, but still need some time to get accustomed. They’ve essentially just had to carry their lineups’ offenses as pick-and-roll ball handlers through this mess, getting limited easy looks and playing catchup defensively.
Once they’re fully embedded in the system, they’ll also have a lot less responsibility and different duties in the context of the full roster. Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo will be primary creators, with the two newcomers feeding off them via catch-and-shoot threes, random cuts, and misdirection plays set up for them.
They’re still here to create, but in a secondary role against bench lineups, not in a please-someone-do-something role they’ve been in. They had been languishing in Detroit having to put up big numbers to try and keep the Pistons from becoming a laughingstock -- unsuccessfully.
Their roles will be entirely different here, and they need some time to adjust. Some of extremely short-handed games going into the All-Star break does not make a reliable sample size.
The good news is that the Knicks appear to be getting somewhat healthy coming out of the hiatus. Bogdanovic is on the mend, and both DiVincenzo and Hartenstein should return.
It’s far from a full roster, but the other missing starters should begin their next steps of soon. This could all coalesce in a fully ready Knicks roster in time for a late season run heading into the playoffs.
Fans concerned about the play of Bogdanovic and Burks need to stay patient. The former has been a tried and true 20-point per game deadeye shooter for years, as evidenced by him sparking the fourth-quarter run against the Rockets. And fans have seen firsthand what Burks can do.
It’s easy to panic or call for the parade with every three-game swing in this league, but in the face of New York’s ridiculous January and full-strength potential, these past few games are nothing to worry about -- least of all for two guys just joining the roster who will make their mark in due time.
