UPDATE: Wojnarowski adds that the Knicks and Pistons have expanded on the trade, also acquiring sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovich while parting with Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono, and Malachi Flynn.
The Knicks are reportedly bringing back Alec Burks in a trade with the Pistons, reuniting the 32-year-old with Tom Thibodeau.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks are sending Quentin Grimes and two second-round picks back to Detroit in the deal.
Burks played the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons with the Knicks, helping New York back to the postseason in 2021 as one of their top fourth-quarter scorers and most efficient 3-point shooters. He is averaging over 40 percent from downtown for the fourth straight season.
This year, Burks is averaging 12.6 points per game with the lousy Pistons, averaging 5.7 3-pointers per game, which would be the highest of his career.
The addition of Burks gives the Knicks another shooting option off the bench, as the team’s second unit has been starved for scoring since the departure of Immanuel Quickley.
Grimes has been out with a knee sprain, and his value has seen a precipitous drop over the past year, going from a player that the Knicks reportedly didn’t want to include in a Donovan Mitchell trade to a headline piece to bring back a bench player in Burks.