What Bojan Bogdanovic Brings To The New York Knicks W/ Locked On Pistons Ku Khahil

What Bojan Bogdanovic Brings To The New York Knicks W/ Locked On Pistons Ku Khahil

Welcome into the locked on Nicks podcast I’m Gavin Shaw today I’m joined by my buddy C cahil the host of the locked on Pistons podcast to get an inside report on what boan bogdanovich will bring to the New York Knicks and then we get into what Quinton Grimes can do to help the

Pistons you are locked on Nicks your daily New York Nicks podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hey what’s up guys you are lockon Nicks your first listen each and every day uh we wanted to remind you if you’re watching us right now hit that

Subscription button on YouTube hit that notifications Bell to ensure you never miss an episode and then be sure did that Auto download function on the podcast side of things when you get tired of looking at our faces but whose faces are those I’m gav shell your favorite play-by-play broadcasters

Favorite play-by-play broadcaster and as mentioned earlier today I’m lucky enough to be joined by by kahill the longtime host of the lock on Pistons podcast and we’re going to talk the highs and lows of the boan bogdanovich experience starting right now all right guys as promised we are lucky enough to be

Joined by kahil the great host of lockdown Pistons who has been going through it this year and I say that cou not not not from a making fun of place I say that from a I’ve been there for a long time place and I empathize with you

How you doing man um and how’s the season going for you uh the season is it’s getting better uh but it was definitely it’s it’s it’s been rough but I’m doing good I think you did you did a smart thing you you embraced it you got the Darth coup moniker going on Twitter

You were you were diving in and I think the show if I’m I know obviously a lot of your listeners are listening to this is a crossover but was blowing up throughout the whole losing streak like not not good for the Pistons I don’t think it was the worst thing in the

World for you no it defin it definitely wasn’t the worst thing in the world for me outside of having to watch it every night that was rough but the show it it it helped it definitely helped some all right well uh hopefully us over here not

Not to jinx anything going on with the Knicks because we we all know it can get bad quickly but uh hopefully we’re a sign that there is absolutely light at the end of the tunnel and I’m hoping Quinton Grimes is that light for you

Guys but before we get into him I I want to talk about your old friend our new friend uh boan bogdanovich uh let’s just start let’s just start broad what what are the Knicks getting in him particularly on the offensive end of the floor and

Can you explain to me and and people who who haven’t had the opportunity to watch him every night I’m recording this before a second game but but when people listen to this he’ll now be two games in on the Knicks how is he such like an efficiency monster despite being old and

And pretty slow he’s he’s a very a very clever scorer um first of all he’s an amazing shooter whether it be spot up off the dribble he’s just an amazing shooter so that makes up for a lot of it um but he actually is this this is

Something that when he was traded to the Pistons from Utah I did not know was in his game and it’s something I’ve watched for the last two years he is I’d say a pretty damn good scorer overall just whether whether it’s getting to the paint and scoring whether it’s scoring

At The Rim whether it’s off you know post-ups whether it’s on dribble pullup midies whether it’s dribble pullup uh three-pointers whether it’s off screen threes whether there’s movement threes he he on offense scoring wise I i’ say there’s not not much he can’t do and his

Size helps him a lot with it um he has a really long wingspan so I think that helps him a lot too he has a quick release that helps him a lot he knows how to use his body and his strength to really Shield off Defenders he gets the

Ball up on the glass very quickly um before Defenders can get around he knows how to Shield Defenders away and use the use the rim as protection so he’s just an overall very Savvy very smart scorer um and his obviously him just being as

Good of a shooter as he is opens up a lot more things because defense have to play up tighter on them it it opens up a lot for him but I think overall you guys are getting a fantastic score um for his age for his usage um now there’s there’s

Some other things that maybe won’t be won’t be loved but when it comes to scoring the basketball for sure I I If he if he scores I know like last two years a lot of people have considered this like the LA best two years of his

Career the last two years in Detroit um so if he keeps scoring at the level he has in Detroit I he’s GNA be a prettyy damn good scorer for you guys what do you and and and this is this is again sorry that this this will come off as an

Insult but I’m not not trying to make it that way what do you think of him as a big game scorer I know he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to do that for the Pistons but the one I zoomed in on was that game against the Celtics where you

Guys were trying to avoid the record and and it felt like I mean Kate Kate as well like I thought that was a weirdly telling and high stakes game for a team that is obviously not going to make the playoffs this year and and he sort of

Shined in in that type of setting so like you said there hasn’t been many big games for Detroit over the last two years what I’ll say is that game he was fine but there was another game I believe was when Kate had 43 twice I believe there was two times

Where Kade was really trying to snap that losing streak he had 41 43 and he and Burks did not show up and it really it was like it was a really really tough uh game to watch because Kade was doing everything he could himself he could

Have got any help they would have won the game so I mean I I guess the losing streak in general were like big games once it got got past like 20 because it’s like we don’t want to be the worst team ever kind of thing

Um what I the best way I can analyze is how he played at the end of close games with the Pistons how he played in you know clutch clutch situations boan is someone who if if you set him if if you go to him to score

He should be fine if you go to him to like hit off the screen three or come off off the pin down and hit a hit a shot like he can do he’ll you can rely on him to do that whether it’s the first second third or fourth clutch time like

You can rely on him with that if you are going to him at all and and putting him in any kind of decisionmaking role you’re going to run into problems like at the end of the games in clutch situations there were often times where the Pistons would put the ball in bu’s

Hands in a situation or he come off a pin down it open he dribbled back out and now we’re in a pick and roll and that now that if he’s not going to score off it you’re in bad TR you’re in bad Waters because he’s not going to play

Make he’s likely not going to make the right decision and if he does try to pass it he’s not he’s not a good passer there’s a good chance he’ll end up in a turnover like that kind of thing so I I don’t think he’s gonna like you know go

Joe Harris on the Knicks like in in the in the playoffs with Brooklyn I don’t think he’s just going to go like 20% I I I don’t expect him to start missing shots but like if you put the ball in his hands and expect him to do something

With decisions you’re going to run into some problems you’re probably not going to be happy about you you you mentioned um his ability to score off the dribble this is a great stat I saw from aop umore MBA on on Twitter um who put together a series of great Boon stats

But 25% of his shots this year came off three to six dribbles he’s shooting uh 49% on those looks and that is like a like I think a significant number for this Knicks team given that Brun and Randall have been like literally the only two guys who can effectively create

Shots at any type of volume off the dribble we saw in that first game maybe he’ll do um even more tonight against the Rockets but that first game he was going against Tyrus Halbert in a mismatch like um I I know you mentioned that’s part of his package but like what

Is like what kind of shots does he like to get to is is he usually doing that to get to a pull-up is he doing that to get to the rim or or is there like a lot of variety in his off the dribble scoring

There’s a lot of variety he’s like I I can’t mention this enough I think Nick’s fans unless he just falls off and and know unless that happens I cannot stress enough that he’s just a a very versatile scorer and it’s something again like I said it’s not something I was expecting

At all coming when he came to the Pistons that he was GNA be someone who could get to the basket who could draw files I think that’s another part of his game too that Nick fans will probably like he draws files he knows how to flop

He knows how to grift like he’s he’s gonna get free throws he’s going to score from mid-range he’s going to score at The Rim he’s going to score from the mid post area you get Miss match on him he’s going to punish it every time if

You get a smaller guard on him he he’ll get to that mid post area he’ll hit a post fade he’ll drive him to the rim draw fou he’ll take two dribbles in bump him with his shoulder and then step back with a midi like he can like I said pull

Up three like he can go he can score just about in every way possible he truly is a really really good scorer um to add on to your point Synergy has him in the 85th percentile on dribble pullup jumpers that’s from three and two um just the dude’s just a flat scorer he

Can score the basketball he can shoot the basketball you guys are going to get that from him you guys are going to enjoy his scoring all right I’ll throw I’ll throw one more uh great number in there out um amongst players who have taken at least two pull-up threes per

Game he’s second in the entire league in terms of shooting percentage from three 45.8% he was first uh before uh that initial game on the next maybe after tonight he will be first again you you mention not the strongest playmaker in the world world where where do those

Weaknesses come into play is it is it if he has a mismatch and defenses send a second Defender his way or is it more so if like a defense is already in rotation he doesn’t kind of quickly recognize what the next best pass is it’s both so

If he gets doubled he’s not going to be quick to make the right read um and oftentimes he makes inaccurate passes out of those situations and then in the rotation he’s off and no fall of his own because he’s such a good scorer I guess

But he’s he’s in just like if he gets the ball it’s it’s score mode like it’s just he that’s where his mind is he’s going to go score so by the time he gets to a point where it’s like you know the defense has has keyed in on him and the

Shots not there he’s unpicked up his dribble now now it’s it by the time he realizes anything or he’s trying to look for someone else it’s too late and now you’re in a tough situation laying the shot clock or you know now the offense is out of rhythm so it it’s really both

Situations him as a playmaker is not a good one at all he is not he I would go as far as say he’s a straight up bad playmaker like I think that I think he’s a poor playmaker um but just how lethal of a shooter and scorer is he makes up

For it to a certain extent you’d say and I I think the good news is on the Knicks he’s going to be asked to be more of a play finisher but you also got to imagine again highest Stakes games best defenses like there there going to be

Moments where he’s gonna have to make the right pass and he’s going to have to do it quickly and and and those could be inflection points in terms of whether or not Tom tho is gonna have him on the floor in those moments perhaps the bigger one though is his defense um I

Remember messaging you early in the year and I was we were kind of mulling going over some fake trades and I think one of them involved boan I was like all right man how bad is it I I think I think the word you use might have been horrendous

I gotta I gotta go back and look but it wasn’t it wasn’t a good review um he was he was fine on the ball I thought his first game as a Nick um but obviously that wasn’t the most telling sample sides like do you think it’s going to

Get to a point where let just say they’re playing the Celtics like and is it just Jason Tatum like calling up his man to screen over and over and over again until Tom iido throws his hands up in the air and takes them off the floor

Or or do you think like he can hold up just enough that the Knicks can play him substantial minutes um in those biggest moments as we are going to continue with coup in just a sec just how disastrously bad is boan bogdanovich on defense or is he surprisingly decent and then we get

Into Quinton Grimes how he can help uh the somewhat morbid Pistons uh improve and and and maybe improve himself with some more opportunities um but first I want to tell you about our buddies over at hungry root hungry roote is your partner in Healthy Living it’s the easiest way to get fresh

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You so this is why when the when the Knicks traded for Boon I was a little bit shocked I was a little bit like I knew you guys were interested in Alec Burks like I knew that was probably going to happen but when I but when it

Was like on also I was just a little shocked because he’s he’s not someone I would expect Tom tho to like he’s not someone I would expect Tom Fido to play a lot of minutes because he is going to be very I’m if he is what he was the

Last few years in Detroit he’s going to be very bad defensively there was moments for a long stretches where it was it was a it was a constant conversation in the Pistons community and even this past game when they played against the Clippers buan was one of the

Was probably the Piston’s best scorer they traded two of their best scorers in Burks and Buon and they look better than they did all year against the Clippers with fono with um with with uh Troy Troy Brown Jr with Shake Milton with those guys because yeah maybe they didn’t

Bring what boam brought offensively but they weren’t just giving up 30 points basically on the other end as well um so if this to give you anything of any rotation player that played for the Detroit Pistons he had by far the wor first onoff difference defensive rating

Wise he had a minus 8.7 difference this the team’s defense was 125.0 Defensive rating when he was on the floor when he was off it it was a 116.3 defensive rating the only person who was close that played rotation minutes to jayen Ivy who’s over seven points a we so it’s

That big of a swing for him at least it was in Detroit it’s not going to be just on ball defense that he’s going to struggle with he often times I don’t want to say lack of effort but just like zones out defense L he won’t make the

Right rotation um he won’t CL crash the glass sometimes um there’ll be like there’s a lot of times like an assignment or or a game plan was like to switch or something Pistons played a lot of switching and he would just not switch sometime and then they would look

Back and forth at each other like what just happened like why didn’t you switch and they would be like a little going back and forth like defensively he’s not good at all so I’m interested to see how much diido plays and how much maybe he maybe he locks in defensively with with

Playing for a great team so maybe that helps but yeah through two years it was a legit discussion about yeah he’s a good scorer but is he actually hurting Detroit when he’s on the floor yeah I think I think there’s always a school of logic all right just wait till he gets

On like an actual good team he’ll he’ll start trying and I’m I’m almost more so the school of thought like if you don’t use it you lose it a little bit and I’m wondering if like at 35 for a guy who I guess at one point was tasked with

Guarding LeBron James that was that was a long time ago um if he still has that capacity tibs is tibs is fascinating in that like he is he is Mr defense and yet like over the course of his career he’s tended to prioritize guys who can just

Put the ball in the buck and he said so much faith in his scheme and usually just so much faith in in whatever his his rim protector dour is um that they’re going to be able to cover up for things and the good news is the Knicks

Are going to have 48 minutes of great Center play and they’re going to probably have the best Rim protecting help wi in the league in ogan anobi and that that’s where I think the Knicks were comfortable making this trade and they thought they were going to be in

Ated against it to some extent but I still wonder if like when push comes to shove he’s more of a 20 minute per game guy than a 35 minute per game guy and maybe the truth is ultimately somewhere in the middle between those two and we’re going to continue watching what

He’s gonna bring to New York but cou I I I kind of wna go back and forth a little bit on Quinton Grimes because he um he’s just flat I mean similar to when they traded Emanuel quickly I was I was heartbroken because he’s he’s one of my

Favorite Nicks um how how excited were you um when you got the news or or or were you not excited saying oh this wasn’t enough of a return for those two guys um so Quinn Grimes was a player that a lot of I saw a few people in the

Pistons Community for like a few weeks saying that could be someone the Pistons Target if they make a trade with the Knicks and I think as of right now there’s a split feeling in the Pistons community on Grimes um I’m on the higher end of him I I think he fits what the

Pistons are looking for I think he fits what they need like next to Cade next to Ivy next to assar next to Duren a guy who can spark it from deep and play some defense a guy who can shoot and not be a complete liability on the defensive end

Um that’s what their biggest problem was they had guards who could play who could score and not play defense at all then they had some guards that could defend but not score at all then they had some wings that could shoot but can’t play defense like they could never get anyone

Who could just do both even if it wasn’t at a great level on both they had they didn’t have anyone that could at least do average on both and it was killing them um so they got quinon Grimes and I think that I think a lot of people are

Excited because they view him as a two-way player um I have a question though it seems like that he fell out of favor with the Knicks this season why why was that did he fall out of favor and what was going on why did he why did

He fall out of favor with tibs well I think I think the starting point was when the Knicks decided to sign Dante to Devan chenzo over the summer and that was a pretty clear message to Emanuel quickley and Quinton Grimes hey one or both of you are are not long for this

Madison Square Garden World um because he was he was brought in to I I think it’s just insurance for like when the Knicks found the right move right deal to move off of one of those two guys so I think just from a psychological perspective like that got this season

Started on a really poor foot after he was like he was just so clearly one of Tom pbo’s favorites as a rookie and I think he was he was injured at the start of both his rookie year and his second year if I’m remembering correctly Possible’s rookie year he wasn’t just

Quite ready to play it but then he came out and like had something like 30 points like his first real action against the Hawks hit six threes last year’s hurt to start the year so Evan forier is starting ahead of him when it seemed like Tom thibo wanted to start

Quitting Grimes and then tibs from that point forward like fell in love with Grimes like would not take him out of the rotation the only time that faltered a little bit is after they got Josh Hart and and they were playing Josh Hart over him in the playoffs and finally click

For tibs hey we need some shooting on the floor and and lo and behold he plays like 46 minutes game five against the Miami Heat um makes a big impact even though he couldn’t make a shot all postseason um but I say all that to Prelude to this year where he was given

The opportunity to start but I think from the very beginning of the year he was looking over his shoulder playing with Jaylen Brunson RJ Barrett Julius Randle three guys who are shoot first shoot second shoot third was not ideal for him and he just wasn’t able to get

Into any kind of Rhythm um wasn’t shooting the the ball nearly as well as he shot it post All-Star break last year where we can talk about that he was absolutely cooking around 45% from three eight attempts for 36 minutes he was he was balling um and just didn’t really

Seem to have added anything meaningful to his game in terms of the ability to to beat a close out and get to the rim to create for others and I think that combined with divon chenzo playing really well pushed him to the bench and then there were there were still moments

Like especially after to go on the bench where he looked really good and he looked improved but it was just a little bit too inconsistent and I think Tom Fido is someone who prioritizes knowing what he’s GNA get from guys night to night more than anything else and

Because of that even though I I think he really likes Grimes as a player I it’s certainly a fair characterization to say he fell out of favor all right guys we’re GNA be back in just a sec to wrap things up with coup does Quint Grimes

Have a higher ceiling than just a role player and as Alec Burks learned any new tricks in his two years on the Pistons we get into that next um but first I want to tell you about our good friends over at eBay motors passion drive and patience what brings

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From a Nick’s perspective do you expect Grimes to go on and be a good player is is there like do Nicks fans and people who watch the Knicks feel like he was one of those players who yeah he’s probably gonna get traded but we won’t be surprised if when he

Gets traded he’s going to be a really good player like for example Killian Hayes has got released there’s no hope there no Pistons fans believe oh well he’s gonna go on and be like a good player like that’s not the same feeling is there feeling amongst the Nicks Nicks

Fan base and amongst those who watch the Knicks that he was kind of just like you know he had to go like he was just like if we want to get that next piece he’s gonna have to go it’s not because we don’t think he’s going to become a good player

It’s just he’s the guy that would have to go um I’ve been saying since his rookie year that I I think he’s gonna have a 14-year NBA career which is an extremely rare thing like I got to I I don’t know the number off the top of my head but I

Gotta imagine it’s probably somewhere less than 1% of the guys who come into the league every draft like stay that long maybe one or two% like he he just has a skill set that every team needs right like you said it earlier like he has no questions asked a good Defender

At his best he is a borderline Elite Defender like the only thing he’s really missing on that end of the floor is is like Elite length and and height at only six foot5 um I’m I was I was torn when the Knicks made this move because I was

Really excited about the shooting and the creation that boan and Burks brought to the table and frankly I thought I thought they were necessary for the Knicks to do anything meaningful this year despite the fact that maybe just after Cleveland they’ve been playing like the best team in the NBA post the

OG and anobi trade it didn’t feel like that offense would totally translate to the playoffs just because they didn’t have enough creation and when you have Jaylen Brunson like smack dab in the middle of his prime having maybe not quite an MVP level season but at least

Over the last 20 games or so an all-nba type of season you you kind of need to go if not all in somewhat close to that and I think the decision for Leon Rose was ultimately our that our draft Equity was going to be more valuable in like

When they do make that all in move this is sort of a perfect Middle Ground of acquiring a contract in Boon that’s tradable next season but a guy that can also help the Nicks win now and I think the combination of those two things was just more appealing than grimes’s upside

And what the Knicks would ultimately have to pay him if not this summer then the following summer but in terms of like what he’s going to be as a player I don’t really have any questions that at the very least he’s going to be a competent rotation guy and that is just

Sort of the floor for him and there’s still room for him to be something quite a bit better than that and it was it was just sort of the timeline for the Knicks and and because the timeline of the Pistons made a whole lot of sense for

Them to go and get him I guess the final thing I would ask is the Pistons are in a in a at a point with their team in this season where I I just recorded a podcast for for I think by the time people listen or Monday’s episode um

That you know the Pistons for the entirety of the Season didn’t even have an NBA rotation so simply just adding players who are NBA players not even great ones not maybe not even a above average ones but simply adding NBA players is going to make such a big

Difference and you saw that in the Clippers game they played the Clippers all the way to the end and a lot of it had to do with the fact they simply could play a rotation that had NBA players on it I say that to to ask the

Question is Grimes just going to be an NBA player is he just going to be like one of those average players or is there a higher upside with him does he have upside in creation does he have the ability to attack Closeouts does he does he have any secondary uh creation or

Playmaking what what is it about do you expect him just to be a three and D guy like what what is it that you you see with kin Grimes is there any kind of hope for an upside or or or him to become more than just a three andd guy

Or is that more so what you you should expect from them it it’s a complicated question and it’s one i’ I’ve probably spent uh unhealthy amount of time thinking about borderline uh institutionalization levels of time thinking about but because I because I love I I can’t I can’t reiterate this

Enough I I freaking love Quin Grimes I’m I’m gonna be watching some Pistons games you might you might have me hitting you up in the middle hey man fio fio Dro coverage not not where I want it to be right now um but um before before that

Happens um I I do think there’s upside there I think this season was a bit of a dent in those feelings just because we I think we all expected him to come back and say all right is this guy on like a Desmond Bane like trajectory and to be

Clear like expecting that was looking things through blue and orange glasses like he hadn’t quite shown that but like go back to the numbers post All-Star break last year which at the end of the day is a pretty small samples what it was 16 17 games um maybe maybe more I

Don’t know it was his last like eight maybe 20 games or so of the season but again shooting something like 45% from three super high volume like per 36 minutes was putting up something like I I don’t quite remember but like 21 points four assists four rebounds and

What was so exciting about him last year was that he was pretty consistently attacking close out and he is super explosive like like it just looks like a NASCAR revving up when he when he’s blowing by a guy he’s really good at The Rim last year shot 70% at the rim and

This is watching RJ Barrett like Clank layup after layup I’m like why isn’t Quinton Grimes getting to take some of these shots that would be pretty cool he he’s like pretty athletic there the one week spot is like he he literally only knows how to use his right hand there

And that’s another thing going into year three you were hoping would shift nope still o his right hand left side of the rim but he is strong like you will see him occasionally go up with like a bigger Defender and you’re like all right he’s about to get swatted and

He’ll take that contact he’ll just hang in the air and still find a way to finish the the flying the ointment in that is that he was just he was seemingly like afraid to attack the basket this year and I think I think he just didn’t want to make a mistake with

Dant chenzo playing so well and looking over his shoulder but he he would constantly pass up opportunities to go to the rim when he went to the rim he would like um Benji rid Holtz who does a really good job covering the Knicks and doing film breakdowns like he would he

Would phrase it as like he would always drive to pass and and and those passes would be available if he was genuinely driving to shoot but Defenders could always tell like he was just trying to go for a dump off and he’s a creative interior passer but if a defense knows

What you’re doing like you you could you could be Steve Dash and you’re just not going to be able to get that off so I think for him it’s all about leaning his game in the right directions the final thing I’ll say is I thought his first

Two years he profiled as someone who was going to be maybe a top 10 to 15 shooter in the league and this year he’s tailed off he’s hitting 37% but those shots have been pretty wide open this whole year and I would have thought all right if he’s getting those types of looks

He’s going to be a 43% three-point shooter and because he’s not quite that I I think that is a substantial reason why the Knicks were comfortable moving off him because if not it’s just I I don’t I almost don’t care how much better you’re getting day of if you view

Yourself as a championship Contender and your best player is is a shoot first not a lot of Defense guard and Jaylen Brunson you want someone who’s a great defender and a great three-point shooter but no questions about his defense and and I think offensively again the Baseline is someone who’s super valuable

For you and and in this NBA you’re probably paying something like 145 million dolls a year for the upside is like a really Elite Danny Green type of role player fair enough we can we can move on to your your guys’s guy Alec Burks who you got you just traded to the

Pistons a few years ago now went and brought them back what questions you got about Burks it’s it’s the re burking in New York um I I almost don’t know what to ask you because me me and Alex were joking after that first game we like wow

It it just feels like we got transported back to back to 2022 and and and no time has passed and you just you looked like the same old Alec Burks so made made some crazy shots made some terrible decisions so I I guess what I like the

Two things I want to know about him one um like how much work did he get on the ball for the Pistons because the the main need for the Knicks coming into the deadline was just more Creation in their second unit and and to what you said earlier Boon’s obviously going to be

Able to bring that from a scoring perspective but in terms of a creating shots for others he won’t be great like we we did just two years ago watch something like 30 games of Burks play point guard while Emanuel quickly rotted on the bench and that wasn’t a super fun

Experience but I’m curious if he’s kind of continued getting reps doing that and if you think he could handle like running a second unit for short stretches and short the short answer is no if oh I I would not let him run your offense in the second unit um the thing

Is is that Bon and Burks kind of are both like the same same criticisms and same like strengths they’re going to score they’re crafty scores they’re not going to defend and they’re not going to play M for others they’re not going to make good passes Burks is probably just

As bad of a or at least has been just as bad of a passer as boan he there there was multiple moments this year like on numerous OCC cases this wasn’t like a one one time you know shacked in the fool kind of thing there was M multiple

Numerous moments where he would pick the ball up and and go throw a corner pass and like throw it over the guy like by like did that literally the Nick’s first G he threw it right out of Bounce and you supposed to be there he just throws it like there’s times where he

Just throws it into empty space and then there’s times where he just like throws it over people by like 10 feet so it’s just like when he does pass it’s almost like don’t pass just you’re here to score just try to shoot the ball and then sometimes he’ll take like the most

Insane shot possible and you’re like why didn’t you pass it’s like a it’s it’s it’s it’s a double-edged SW sword that you got to deal with because sometimes he does just go absolutely nuclear and just hit some of the most insane shots of all time like he he’ll just he’ll hit

Some he there was legit games in the last month the Pistons won three games I three or four games the last month M and like at least two or three of them was only because Alec Burks dropped like 35 Off the Bench like it was it was he

Would come in the come into the game and just go Scorch the Earth he he would just like back to back threes pull up threes it would just he has that cre has that scoring uh creation I’m sure some you guys already know about that he’s able to have stretches where he just

Goes on fire he turns into human and torch um does again I I guess my question is then it’s like are you guys are the Knicks looking for just simply shot creation because if it’s just simply shot creation and scoring gravity and that kind of stuff they should be

Able to provide that buan obviously infinitely more so uh buan the shots buan creates are all going to look like easy shots to him he rarely is buan going to take a shot that looks like a one a tough shot or two a shot that he doesn’t think he could make like it’s

GNA be good it’s just gonna be a matter of buyon missed um I know I’m kind of describing to sound like KD out here but I mean I mean it kind of is rarely is he going to take a bad shot that he feels like oh I didn’t have a chance at that

One now both Burks he’s going to take shots there’s GNA be multiple shots he takes the game you’re just like dude what was that and there’s gonna be probably like three to four shots a game he’s going to take that either one he’s going to get a foul on or he’s not going

To get one he’s gonna ask for one it’s he’s GNA file grift either that night the refs are going to give him the file calls or they’re not you’re gonna have four missed shots in four empty possessions so if it’s just scoring creation and I think you guys got what

You needed if it’s anything if it’s like more than scoring creation at all I I think you should pump the brakes a little bit and I saw I don’t know I did see quite a few Nicks fans tweet after the first game like what the hell is

Like I already saw some fans like I was one of them cou I was one of them I already saw some fans freaking out like dude what is this yeah the the first game was like literally everything you’re talking about should be playing over a montage

Of of his highlights and and low lights um of of that initial Voyage against the Pacers like with dramatic Titanic Style music in the background because that’s that that is that’s what it was like he he h three threes in a row to bring them back in but only after he looked off

Boan ironically enough like I was like these two should have chemistry wide open in the corner Burks is like screw it i’m first percentile in the league at The Rim let me let me dribble in and take a floater over over three guys so I think like where my gears are turning

Here is I almost wonder if Burks is just not going to be in the playoff rotation the Knicks are going to stick with Duce McBride and he’s he’s going to be the guy running things there um just because I I don’t know if they could afford to

Play both those guys at the same time because where the Knicks have been so good post this trade is that the ball is popping around the perimeter they went from a team that was like pretty much dead last and assist rate the whole year

To to top 10 post the ogan and Obi trade and I I I think they won some of that ISO style back it helps you keep turnovers down but I don’t know if you want to play both those guys substantial minutes for the time being with all the injuries though they absolutely need

Alec Burks all right very last thing can be super quick but where where was he at as a defender in in Detroit because I thought he was pretty solidly average in New York and I think that was part of the appeal of getting him over um maybe

Some of the other guys that n considered who are who are pretty morbid on that end of the floor do you think the description of average still holds up to him or or do you think he declined at all as he as he kind of heads into his

Early to mid-30s I I this just another situation where it’s like maybe if he’s on a better team he’ll be better but I wouldn’t characterize him as an average Defender with Detroit I think he was a more active one than buan um you’ll see him make more rotations than

Buan will like on an ex out close out you’ll see him do those I I I can I can think of multiple possessions where I can see Burks making those um but he’s also just not he’s he’s not at least with Detroit he wasn’t that good of a

Defender um okay which again this is why I was just like I was questioning whether why the Knicks would want both Burks and B because they’re both both at least with Detroit was not good Defenders um but with Burks yeah I I would say I I’d say he gives more effort and

Maybe or at least acted as so as so he carried a little bit more defensively than buan so there’s hope with that one boan I think you’re just toast I I don’t think there’s any coming back from Buon I think Boon’s like done defensively completely like on ball every now and

Then if you go against another European he’ll he’ll turn it up and he’ll he’ll be ready he’ll be absolutely ready we got we got to throw him on porzingis let’s go he’ll be ready to go but Burks um there might be just because he was more attentative with Detroit but I

Don’t know I I would not bet on it at all um I do want to ask you just a quick question then we wrap it up what’s up with the Knicks not giving him the first round pick back I like I I keep what I understand what I’ve heard is that what

I’ve heard is that the Knicks know they’re likely never going to use that pick but they also know the Pistons desperately want it so they’re going to hold it over Detroit until Detroit desperately gets like does something desperate to get it back and they tried

To do it at the deadline with it but Weaver wasn’t budging it’s like is this is just G to be a c mil is it gonna be a game of chicken for like three years until that pick goes into seconds or what well welcome welcome to the Leon

Rose regime my guy nothing no no inch of turf is is spared easily this is This Is War this is a battle hardened agent you might have watched a guy get killed before like he is ready to grind this out and honestly like I I think it was

It was probably mostly a money thing that it was Grimes instead of a first round pick but it could have also been as simple as like he thought the biston pick was a better asset than Quinn Grimes which like I would I’d probably push back on a little bit just because I

Like Grimes but you always hear like like a a pick is more valuable than the player it turns into and and even more so when that player is on his second contract and and he’s good but but maybe not great so I think I think that’s where Leon Rose was at and they’re

They’re going to try to turn that pick into a star or to your point the Pistons want to want to go crazy and give give up something better down the road the Knicks are are more than willing to to wait that out I think I think would be

My summary of it well we’ll see how long it goes I know in like two three years it turns into multiple seconds so the Knicks need to and it’s pretty heavily protected too I think it’s like 16 top 16 protected next year or 14 protected

So I don’t know it goes down to 12 I think is as low as it goes but that that’s a little that might be optimistic right I I think I think maybe 2025 is the best chance it converts but we’ll see what happens all right we will

Reconvene at that point uh cah heel lockdown Pistons uh and everyone um check him out there wherever you can find podcast for all of our Pistons listeners tuning in uh check us out un locked on Nicks wherever you can find podcast and on YouTube um but until next

Time or maybe maybe when that pick finally convin he’s co I’m Gavin we’ll talk to you very very soon on locked on Nicks and locked on Pistons oh

We’ve gotten to see two games of Bojan Bogdanovic in a Knicks uniform. He’s clearly a special shot maker. But what else does he bring to the table on offense and just how concerning is his defense?

Gavin Schall is joined by Locked On Pistons Host Ku Khahil to get the inside report and also delve into why the Knicks were willing to move off Quentin Grimes and what he brings to the Pistons.

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