We are now in the height of NBA trade rumor season with the trade deadline less than three weeks away and the Detroit Pistons are getting mentioned in just about all of them.
Are they buyers? Are they sellers? No one knows at this point as there has been ample speculation for each.
If the Pistons don't make a huge trade to add impact talent, they will have to decide what to do with veteran sharpshooters Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, who are both being pursued by multiple teams.
New York Knicks interested in Alec Burks of the Detroit Pistons in recent NBA rumors
The Knicks have long been connected to Bojan Bogdanovic in trade rumors and it makes sense. They have the extra picks, expiring contract and young players that Detroit might covet and the Knicks need more shooting.
But the most recent reports have the Knicks connected to guard Alec Burks according to Mike Scotto of HoopsHype among others.
"The Knicks are doing their due diligence and looking at various players across the league, including Hornets guard Terry Rozier, Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon, former Tom Thibodeau favorite Alec Burks, sources said."
So Burks isn't the only player the Knicks are inquiring about, but given his familiarity with the Knicks, and the fact that he'll be cheaper to acquire in a trade, Burks might be near the top of their list.
There are two possible trades that could work for Alec Burks and both would help the Detroit Pistons in different ways.
Trade #1: The Pistons get a pick back
I wrote recently that the Pistons should consider re-signing Burks if they can make other big changes to their roster. Detroit has been talking about needing veteran shooters forever and Burks is one.
But keeping Burks to be your best bench player makes little sense for the NBA's worst team, so if the whole roster isn't upgraded, they may as well trade him, especially if they can get a first-round pick back.
Has Burks done enough lately for the Pistons to recoup the pick they owe the Knicks? The Knicks have four first-round picks in 2024, but it's hard to see them giving up the best of them (which would be the one the Pistons owe them) for a guy on an expiring deal.
Even though there are protections on the Pistons' pick that mean it may never be conveyed (it turns into a 2nd-rounder eventually), it's still worth the risk for the Knicks to keep it, as the protections lighten in the next three seasons.
So in this trade, they send their own first-round pick and Evan Fournier's expiring deal back to Detroit. The money comes up slightly short (867k) in this one, but I'll let the lawyers figure that out.
This is likely about as good as it is going to get for the Pistons, as a first-round pick in this draft would give them extra ammunition for a trade.
They would have to decide if the trade they could potentially make with that pick would bring back a player as valuable as Burks, who can still light it up off the bench.
Would the Pistons rather have a young player?
Trade #2: The Detroit Pistons land Quentin Grimes
The Pistons could also pursue one of the Knicks' young players and they have a pretty good one in Quentin Grimes.
Grimes is a relentless and talented defender who is shooting 38 percent from long range this season on 4.7 attempts per game. He's only shooting 39 percent overall, as he doesn't take many shots that aren't 3-pointers, averaging just six field goal attempts per game.
His minutes and numbers are down this season, but Grimes is a guy who has played big minutes for a good Knicks team, mostly because of his defense.
He's a 3-and-D guard who is only 23 years old, so the Pistons may covet him more than a late first-round pick in exchange for Burks. Fournier has to be included to make the money work (it still doesn't but it's not hard to find 867k), so the Pistons would have to open up a roster spot, waive Fournier or come to an agreement on a buyout.
Of these two trades, I'd rather have Grimes, who is a very good defender and has potential as a shooter even though he's never likely to be a high-volume guy. But when you think about it, Burks only shoots one more 3-point shot per game than Grimes, so the Pistons would be getting a huge defensive upgrade without losing too much.
Either of these deals likely represents the best the Pistons can get for Burks, but would the Knicks really give up real assets for a one-dimensional shooting guard on an expiring deal? I have my doubts, but it does seem inevitable that the Pistons and Knicks will make a trade at some point.
It could be for Bojan, it could be for Burks or it could be for both if the Knicks wanted to pool a first-round pick and Grimes. Stay tuned.