Alec Burks Tom Thibodeau is happy to be back with the Knicks. After the Trade Deadline
That is at least the case for Alec Burks, who was traded hours before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline and is now playing for the New York Knicks again. The Detroit Pistons traded Burks and teammate Bojan Bogdanovic to the Knicks for a deal that included Quentin Grimes.
Burks is returning to the Knicks for the second time, having previously played there from 2020-22, and he is looking forward to working with coach Tom Thibodeau again.
“I get a lot of love out here, so I’m glad to be back with everybody,” Burks said before officially returning on Saturday, according to Peter Botte of the New York Post. “My two-year stint was a lot of fun here, we won a lot of games, connected with a lot of fans, the playoff series, just a lot of different times I had as a Knick, at that point, just remembering all those times, I’m just glad to be back.”
Burks, 32, is in his 13th NBA season since leaving Colorado, but he’s still proven to be an effective NBA player, averaging 12.6 points per game and shooting just north of 40 percent from three-point range entering Saturday’s game. As one of the bright spots in the Knicks’ 125-111 defeat to Indiana, he scored 22 points off the bench, including 15 in the fourth quarter on 4-of-8 from deep.
While Burks is unlikely to be the deciding factor in the Knicks’ title chances, he can provide vital depth and shooting to help New York prosper in the postseason. It’s difficult to picture Burks playing more minutes than Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart in the playoffs, but he’ll certainly receive plenty of minutes in the coming weeks as both OG Anunoby and Julius Randle recover from elbow and shoulder injuries.
Burks will seek to build on his dramatic return to New York on Monday, when the Knicks begin a quick road trip in Houston (8 p.m. ET, MSG).
