The New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons have pulled off their second trade in less than a week. Center Nerlens Noel and guard Alec Burks come to the Motor City, along with draft picks and money.
The draft night trade with the Knicks for the Pistons went so well, they decided to strike another deal with them, according to multiple sources.
The Knicks are trading center Nerlens Noel and guard Alec Burks to the Pistons, sources tell ESPN. The Knicks will unload $19M more in salary, clearing the way for cap space to try and sign free agent guard Jalen Brunson.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022
According to Brian Windhorst, the Pistons also receive their own 2023 second-round pick and a top 55 protected second round selection from Miami (2025 unprotected) plus $6 million in cash (owner Tom Gores will be happy with that part).
The Knicks also have Detroit’s 2023 first-round pick (top 18 protected) but, apparently, general manager Troy Weaver could not pry that away from them.
What the Pistons are sending the Knicks was unknown as of Tuesday night, but it won’t be much. These moves might officially be folded into the draft night trade, so Detroit might not have to trade anything more.
The Knicks are clearing cap space to offer a near-max deal to Dallas guard Jalen Brunson. Detroit took Kemba Walker and his $9.1 million salary as part of the Jalen Duren trade, but the Knicks still had to make even more room to offer Brunson a big contract.
Detroit did not pick up the options on Tuesday of guards Frank Jackson and Carsen Edwards as well as center Luka Garza, giving them space to accept more players.
In a weak free agent market, the Pistons might have decided that they would not do better than Noel and Burks, if they went the free agent route, so they pulled the trigger on the Knicks deal, and got some additional draft picks as well.
While Walker is expected to be bought out, Wojnarowski says the Pistons plan on keeping the new ex-Knicks. Noel is a defensive-oriented center and rim protector who will ease 18-year-old rookie Jalen Duren’s transition to the NBA.
Burks is a scoring guard who can create his own shot, something Detroit can use. Pistons fans will remember Burks from March 27, when it looked like Detroit was going to beat the Knicks, until Burks poured in 14 fourth-quarter points and New York pulled out a two-point victory.
Both Noel and Burks have only team options following the 2022-23 season, so Detroit can get out of their contracts after this year if they choose, and gain $19 million in salary cap space.