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Facing mounting injuries and expiring contracts, the Knicks traded Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier and draft capital for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks at this year’s trade deadline.
At the time, it would be fair to consider Bogdanovic as the best player in that trade, a perennial 20-points-per-game scorer and 40 percent shooter from deep.
While New York was able to add bodies and replace a large contract good for trade fodder, Bogdanovic’s game didn’t translate as hoped. He went from averaging 20.2 points on 51.8 percent shooting from two and 41.5 percent from three in Detroit to scoring 10.4 points a game on 48.8 percent and 37 percent, respectively.
Some of this had to do with his role drastically changing. He went from high-minutes, high-volume shotputting to bench offensive engine, and struggled to defend to the level required in Tom Thibodeau’s rotation.
At one point, Bogdanovic went six straight games without scoring in double figures, a complete 180 from the player New York hoped they were trading for. He was meant to serve as a dependable shooter and scorer amid the injuries, and eventually a playoff weapon if all went right.
The upshot? Bogdanovic found some comfort down the home stretch of the season.
Over his last 12 games, Bogdanovic put up 10.9 points on 55 percent shooting from two and 41.3 percent from three. He rediscovered his jumper and started using his body inside more against weaker guards.
This play carried over into the postseason, where although he didn’t score quite as efficiently, he displayed that late-season confidence and looked as if the Knicks could turn to him in an offensive pinch. He made a couple of big baskets in the final moments of the third and early in the fourth quarter of Game 1 against Philadelphia, plus two massive threes to start the fourth quarter in the ensuing contest.
Unfortunately, the Knicks wouldn’t see much more of him as he went down with an ankle injury in Game 4, which along with his wrist, required offseason surgeries to repair. New York now has the option of waiving him and his $19 million owed in 2024-25, of which only $2 million is guaranteed if they clip him, which could add flexibility to their free agency.
So should New York keep Bogdanovic, or let him walk?
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how well Bogdanovic will fit with this team. It should look slightly better than last year’s regular season with a full camp and defined role, however, he began losing postseason minutes as the 76ers targeted him defensively non-stop, which wouldn’t change.
Assuming the full rotation returns, he’ll likely be slotted 13-20 minutes as a bench wing depending on his play. He can be expected to shoot and score well, or at the very least just provide some needed depth, but he also just turned 35 years old and is now coming off two surgeries.
There’s also the possibility of not waiving him to trade him this summer or next season. He’ll have a large expiring contract and defined skillset teams would be interested, and the Knicks are reportedly star-hunting, so they’ll need the ammo to do it.
The flip side is waiving him to open up room for a better-fitting free agent. The Knicks likely won’t have cap space and will need to get into the luxury tax to retain the core of their roster.
That said, under the new CBA rules, their mid-level exception increases and decreases depending on how far over the threshold they are. In one scenario, waiving Bogdanovic could open up the non-taxpayer MLE projected to be around $13 million a year, as compared to the first apron amount of around $5 million, and no exception whatsoever at the second apron.
New York can use that $13 million on somebody like Tyus Jones, Kyle Anderson, Royce O’Neal or Gary Harris. These would be marginal upgrades, if that, but their defensive aptitudes better fit the Knicks’ roster and culture.
Unfortunately with Bogdanovic’s guarantee due on June 28, the Knicks will need to have a clear sense of the upcoming offseason to make their decision, unless they trade him around the NBA Draft (starting June 26). Either way, this should be one of their easier choices, with multiple positive outcomes available to them.