East Notes: Knicks, Bojan Bogdanovic, Sixers, Celtics

Knicks

The Knicks were looking for scoring punch off the bench and kept bugging the Pistons until they got it. At first, Detroit reportedly wasn’t sure if it wanted to trade veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovic and wing Alec Burks.

Eventually, New York convinced the Pistons they did.

“The decision-making process in Detroit wasn’t straightforward,” wrote Ian Begley of SNY.tv. “Some members of the organization wanted to keep Bogdanovic and try to win games. Others wanted to move off of veterans like Burks and Bogdanovic and acquire younger players/draft capital.

“In the end, the latter group won out.”

Bogdanovic in particular is expected to immediately become one of the top reserves (and sometimes starter) in the entire league.

• Guard/forward Josh Hart credited team president Leon Rose for the moves. “I think Leon and the front office was cooking,” Hart told reporters.
• The Knicks have officially signed forward/center Taj Gibson to a second 10-day contract, the team announced. His new deal runs through Feb. 19.

76ers

• All signs point to veteran point guard Kyle Lowry landing with the Sixers on the buyout market, per multiple reports. Lowry is reportedly working toward a buyout agreement with the Hornets.
• As noted by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Sixers lost some toughness and depth in the backcourt when they traded Patrick Beverley to the Bucks. Lowry, a Philadelphia product, could help replace that and offers more skill offensively than Beverley.
• Sixers president Daryl Morey offered high praise for shooting guard Buddy Hield, acquired in the trade with the Pacers. “I felt like he gave us exactly what we were looking for, which is that he’s one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history..” Morey told reporters.

Celtics

Head of basketball operations Brad Stevens said the team had been keeping a close eye on guard Jaden Springer, acquired in a deadline-day deal with the Sixers.

“We’ve tracked his development pretty closely over the years,” Stevens told reporters. “We liked him in the draft a few years ago. He was the youngest player in that draft. He’s still a puppy. He’s still 21 years old. He was unbelievable in the G League playoffs last year. He’s done a lot of good things against us when he’s been up in Maine. We’ve seen him live several times up there. He’s a guy we’ve been tracking for a while.”

• The team’s other trade acquisition, big man Xavier Tillman, is still dealing with a knee issue and his status remains up in the air. “He competes, he passes, thinks the game well,” Stevens said. “All the stuff that we’ve been fortunate with the guys we have around our best players, that they brought to the table. He knows how to play.”