Trade Between Detroit And New York Now Official
Detroit general manager Troy Weaver was busy on draft night. The Pistons were involved in a few trades the day before and the day of the draft and now they're all officially in the books. Below is the release from the organization.
The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club has acquired Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, a 2023 second-round draft pick, originally belonging to Detroit, a 2026 second-round draft pick, via Minnesota or New York, dependent on draft position, and cash considerations from the New York Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Nikola Radicevic and a protected second-round pick in 2025.
Burks, 6-6, 214, recorded clips of 11.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 28.6 minutes through 81 games (44 starts) with the Knicks in 2021-22. He scored at least 20 points in nine contests, including a season-best 34 points against the Pistons on Dec. 29, 2021. Burks had 43 games with multiple 3-pointers and made at least four triples 14 times a year ago.
The Grandview, Mo. native has 11 years of NBA experience after he was drafted 12th overall by the Utah Jazz in the 2011 NBA Draft. Burks has suited up for the Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Knicks with career marks of 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.7 steals in 625 NBA games (135 starts).
A former standout at Colorado, Burks played two seasons collegiately for the Buffaloes while garnering Big 12 Rookie of the Year honors and All-Big 12 First Team honors as a sophomore.
Noel, 6-11, 220, tallied 3.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks in 22.5 minutes over 25 games (11 starts) with the Knicks last season. He pulled down double-digit rebounds twice and had multiple blocks in nine games in 2021-22. Noel spent two seasons with New York, appearing in 89 games (52 starts) since 2020-21.
The former sixth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Noel has played eight seasons in the league for the Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder and Knicks. He was named to the 2014-15 All-Rookie First Team and has ranked in the top-15 in the NBA in steals twice and blocks three times, including ranking third (2.2 bpg) in 2020-21.
Hailing from Malden, Mass., Noel played collegiately for the Kentucky Wildcats in 2012-13. He was named to the All-SEC First Team and was selected to the SEC All-Defense and SEC All-Freshman teams. Noel also earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year and SEC Rookie of the Year in his lone season with the Wildcats.
Radicevic, 6-6, 200, was acquired by Detroit via trade from the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 22, 2020. He was drafted 57th overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2015 NBA Draft.