After the teardown in Brooklyn, a door has opened for middle-of-the-pack teams, such as the New York Knicks, to get inside the second tier of power in the Eastern Conference.
Now, it seems that they are looking to upgrade their roster with more experience for the stretch run.
After acquiring Josh Hart, a two-way wing who bolsters the Knicks’ bench, the Knicks have reportedly set their eyes on another veteran, Bojan Bogdanovic, from the Detroit Pistons with a few more hours left before the 3 p.m. trade deadline.
“Bogdanovic has garnered serious interest from the Knicks, Bucks, and Lakers, per league sources. However, none of those three really has anything that would entice the Pistons to part ways with the 33-year-old forward who is having the best offensive season of his career. It feels like a third team would have to get involved for Detroit to get the type of return it would need to move its coveted trade chips before the deadline.”
James Edwards III via The Athletic
The shift from Saddiq Bey, their reported earlier target in Detroit, to the veteran sniper Bogdanovic says a lot about the team’s mindset after Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant left the Nets, which made the Eastern Conference wide open.
On top of his remarkable shooting (41.6% on six attempts) this season, Bogdanovic has a wealth of playoff experience with the Utah Jazz and has been competitive on the defensive end, not shying away from guarding the opposing team’s top players. Just ask Jalen Brunson.
The Bucks acquiring Jae Crowder leaves the Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers in a bidding war for Bogdanovic’s services.
If the Knicks can somehow add Bogdanovic to Hart and Immanuel Quickley on their bench, they’ll have a legit shot of getting out of the first round of the playoffs.
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