Knicks, Pistons' Updated Starting Lineups, Rotations After Bogdanović, Fournier Trade

Bojan Bogdanović is on the move again after the Detroit Pistons traded the veteran forward to the New York Knicks.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pistons will receive Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono and two second-round picks from the Knicks in exchange for Bogdanović and Alec Burks.

The Knicks haven't let their recent injury woes deter them from continuing to make deals with the goal of being a major factor in the Eastern Conference playoffs this season.

Here's what the Knicks' starting five and depth chart at full strength will look like after this trade:

• PG: Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride
• SG: Donte DiVincenzo, Alec Burks
• SF:  OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanović, Josh Hart
• PF: Julius Randle, Precious Achiuwa, Taj Gibson
• C: Isaiah Hartenstein, Jericho Sims, Taj Gibson

The Pistons will run with this lineup for the rest of the season, though they will have to waive one played to get down to 15 players on the active roster:

• PG: Cade Cunningham, Malachi Flynn, Marcus Sasser
• SG: Jaden Ivey, Quentin Grimes, Ryan Arcidiacono, Shake Milton
• SF: Ausar Thompson, Evan Fournier, Troy Brown Jr.   
• PF: Kevin Knox, Isaiah Stewart, Danilo Gallinari
• C: Jalen Duren, James Wiseman, Mike Muscala

Projected starters in italics.

The Knicks are currently playing without Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson because of injuries.

Brunson suffered a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's win over the Memphis Grizzlies. He's officially listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Dallas Mavericks, so there's a chance he won't miss any time.

Randle suffered a dislocated shoulder in a Jan. 27 win over the Miami Heat that's expected to keep him out for two to three weeks.

Robinson hasn't played since Dec. 8 because of an ankle injury that required surgery. There was initially a fear that he would miss the rest of the season, but there's some optimism he could return for the playoffs and he's expected to resume on-court activities after the All-Star break.

After getting picked apart by the Miami Heat in the playoffs, the Knicks needed to add another scorer to their lineup who can take pressure off Brunson.

The front office has already been aggressive by acquiring OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors in December as part of a package that sent Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett to Toronto.

Randle has been a solid regular-season player who has proven multiple times he's not a reliable playoff performer. Josh Hart and Obi Toppin looked overwhelmed in the two playoff rounds.

Bogdanović has 46 games of postseason experience under his belt. His shooting touch has translated in those games to the point of a 38.2 percent success rate from three-point range on 5.4 attempts per contest.

The Knicks already have a No. 1 option on offense with Brunson. Randle has shown signs of growth on offense so far this season, but there will still be doubts about his playoff impact until he proves it on that stage.

Bogdanović gives head coach Tom Thibodeau another reliable option to take the offense tp another level this season. Getting Burks in the deal also adds more depth to the backcourt in the event Brunson has to miss time due to his ankle injury.

The Pistons acquired Bogdanović from the Utah Jazz in September. He was expected to provide an additional scorer to a young roster that included Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, as Detroit looked to become a playoff contender this season.

Things did not go as planned for the Pistons, though. Cunningham only played in 12 games before undergoing season-ending surgery on Dec. 16 to repair a stress fracture in his left leg.

Detroit is in the midst of a disastrous season that included an NBA-record 28-game losing streak.

Bogdanović became the most obvious trade candidate as Detroit looked toward the future. At 33, he was the oldest player on the team. His contract was likely appealing to other teams, as he signed a two-year, $39.2 million extension in October.

The extension contains descending salaries starting at $20 million this season and just over $19 million in 2024-25.

There were rumblings that the Pistons didn't want to move Bogdanović, despite their ongoing struggles and need to find long-term contributors.

Bogdanović is also one of the best shooters in the NBA. The nine-year veteran averaged a career-high 21.6 points per game last season and connected on 41.1 percent of his three-point attempts.

It was the fourth time in the past six seasons he made at least 40 percent of his attempts from behind the arc. The only times he failed to reach that mark were in 2020-21 (39.0) and 2021-22 (38.7).

Bogdanović is on pace to hit that mark again this season with a 41.5 percent success rate from behind the arc. He's also averaging 20.2 points per game in 28 appearances.

The Pistons can give Grimes the playing time that Thibodeau wasn't offering him this season. He's only 23 and showed a lot of promise last season with a 38.6 three-point percentage on 5.7 attempts per game in 71 appearances.

Putting Grimes with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson at least gives the Pistons a talented young nucleus they can build around. It won't do anything to salvage this season, but this at least gives them a foundation to work with going into the 2024-25 campaign.