His conclusion?

Leon Rose is cookin’.

Four hours ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline, the Knicks dealt four players (Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono and Malachi Flynn) and two second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons for vaunted bench scorer Bojan Bogdanovic and former Knicks playmaker Alec Burks.

The Knicks needed the contracts of Fournier and Flynn for salary-matching reasons, but losing Grimes, a capable three-and-D wing in the third year of his rookie deal, and Arcidiacano, beloved among his Villanova cohort, including rotation mainstays Hart, Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo, hit home at Madison Square Garden.

Basketball, however, is a business — and Rose’s Knicks are in the business of winning.

He traded homegrown first-round picks RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley on New Year’s Day in the OG Anunoby trade with the Toronto Raptors, which also netted Precious Achiuwa.

Just like the Anunoby deal, Thursday’s trade was a no-brainer.

It’s the all-too familiar feeling of another home run for a Knicks front office with a steady, yet undeniable track record of improving the roster via a mid-season trade.

“Obviously, I hate to see my guy, Archy go,” said Hart. “Obviously, you hate to see anybody go. Obviously, that’s our guy. But nah, I think that was a really good trade in terms of what we needed.”

* * *

Breaking news: The private jet did not land in time.

Hart only wanted one thing for a battered Knicks roster sporting just eight players for Thursday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks: for the private jet — “the P.J.” — to make its way.

That is, for Burks and Bogdanovic — who had been acquired just hours before he spoke to media — to miraculously arrive at MSG in time for tipoff.

A pipe dream.

With Anunoby (right elbow surgery), Jalen Brunson (sprained right ankle), Julius Randle (dislocated right shoulder) and Mitchell Robinson (left ankle surgery) all out due to injury, the Deadline-Day Knicks deployed just eight players against the Mavericks.

Two of those players (Jacob Toppin and Charlie Brown Jr.) are on two-way contracts, called up from the Westchester Knicks. The 38-year-old Taj Gibson logged 22 minutes as one of the remaining six available players.

Isaiah Hartenstein was healthy, too, until he left the game at halftime after aggravating an Achilles injury.

Hart braced himself for a heavy minutes load, but under these circumstances, the sheer thought of double-overtime sent him off the deep end.

“Oh, f—k. If they do that [double OT], y’all gonna start seeing me hacking, arguing calls,” said Hart. “I think we’ve got [NBA official] Zach Zarba. … Y’all might see my walk up to Zach; I might just slap Zach, get a quick tech and get out of here.

“Yeah, if we go to double-overtime, Zach, he got one coming.”

What’s coming off as an extreme course of action is, in reality, a cry for help. And thanks to Rose, help is on the way, though not in enough time to spare Hart’s legs on Thursday.

Hart is averaging 39.6 minutes across the six games both Randle and Anunoby have missed since the Jan. 27 matchup against the Miami Heat. And when Brunson couldn’t go on Thursday, Hart — after hyperextending his knee on Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies — played 42 minutes.

“I’s tired, boss. That’s how I’m feeling,” Hart said ahead of tipoff on Thursday. “But nah, I’m cool. … We gonna push the body today.”

This is where New York’s next-man-up ethos reaches an inflection point.

DiVincenzo and Achiuwa are averaging 40.5 and 40 minutes, respectively, since Randle and Anunoby went down. With Brunson out on Thursday, Miles McBride played 45 of a possible 48 minutes against the Mavericks.

The immediacy of the trade makes the move a win, now, for the win-now Knicks.

Not only are Burks and Bogdanovic able-bodied — something a large chunk of the Knick rotation cannot say — but they are scorers and play-makers who will infuse offensive production into a barren New York lineup.

“Leon and his staff, their job is to always look at what opportunities are out there, and does something make sense that can make our team better?” Thibodeau said pregame. “And if it does, then you take a good hard look at it. And sometimes, the price is too high and you don’t do it.

“This, it felt like it made sense. It made sense for Detroit, as well, so a good trade for both teams. And it fits what we need right now, but it also fits us going forward.”

* * *

Going forward? Now that’s a scary thought. Particularly if the Knicks can get healthy.

Basketball pundits are fawning over Rose’s course of mid-season action. Sure, Bogdanovic and Burks provide immediate relief for a depleted Knicks team.

Bigger picture, the Knicks addressed their biggest need in a world where they’re at 100% strength: bench depth.

Acquiring Anunoby super-charged the starting lineup by injecting a dominant defensive force who stabilized the Knick offense with three-point shooting and strong finishing at the rim.

Trading Quickley and Barrett, however, removed the two players who captained the second unit. The Knicks rank second-to-last behind only the Phoenix Suns in bench scoring since acquiring Anunoby on New Year’s Day.

In acquiring Bogdanovic and Burks, the Knicks now have instant offense off the bench when Randle, Anunoby and Brunson return to the starting lineup.

Bogdanovic and Burks have combined to average 32 points per game in their last season-and-a-half as teammates in Detroit.

Both are L.A.S.E.R.S. — or high-volume, high-efficiency three-point shooters — in a three-point heavy Thibodeau offense.

Both boast playoff pedigree, too, with Bogdanovic playing on Donovan Mitchell’s Utah Jazz teams, and Burks combining to play 22 playoff games over the course of his career, including five with the Knicks in 2021.

Hart sees the road to a lighter minutes load. So does DiVincenzo.

“You can rely on them to play big minutes,” said Hart. “If I’m not playing well, and OG has to play 38, and Bojan’s gotta play 38, [if] I play 15, well, cool. We have the luxury to do that. And that’s what you want: being able to get into adverse situations and have the luxury of guys being able to step up, play big minutes and have other guys. If it’s not their night, they’re cool with sitting.”

“Proven scorers, proven vets and proven shooters,” added DiVincenzo. “Think it will help us with our depth. What gives us a unique lineup this year once we get them is any given night really you might have some play 30, you might have some guys play 16, 17 if somebody has it going.”

Suddenly, the Knicks — who are optimistic about having a fully healthy roster with a good number of regular-season games left before the playoffs — could have a starting five of Brunson-DiVincenzo-Anunoby-Randle-Hartenstein, then have McBride, Burks, Bogdanovic, Hart, Achiuwa and Robinson coming off the bench.

That doesn’t include Jericho Sims, who survived a hectic trade deadline and gives Thibodeau 12 players to choose from to fill his dedicated nine-man rotation.

“Yeah, I like the makeup of our team. A lot,” he said. “I like our young guys a lot: Jericho and Deuce. Those guys have added a lot to our team. Then if you look at how all it fits together, we added a lot of shooting, which is much needed.”

* * *

Hart spoke this into fruition. After all, history is on Rose’s side when it comes to mid-season trades.

The Knicks were 11-14 when they traded for Derrick Rose at the 2021 NBA trade deadline and finished that season 41-31.

They won nine straight after trading for Hart midway through last season, and the returns on the Anunoby deal are through the roof: The Knicks are 16-4 since the trade and own the second-best record in all of basketball since Jan. 1.

“I don’t know, I feel like we’re a pretty good post-trade team, if you know what I mean,” Hart joked when the Knicks won their first three games after the Anunoby deal. “Maybe we can make some more trades. No one in here. Maybe 2040 picks or something like that, keep it rolling until the trade deadline and we can’t do it anymore.”

The Knicks wanted to keep things rolling. They also wanted to roll into the offseason armed with enough capital to meet the high asking price a superstar suddenly available for trade might command.

Bogdanovic provides an influx of offense now, but he is also due a $19 million salary in the final year of his deal next season. The $19 million figure mirrors Fournier’s non-guaranteed salary cap hit for the 2024-25 season.

The difference, of course, is while Fournier is past his prime as an NBA player, Bogdanovic is a 20 point-per game scorer.

While he is exactly what the doctor ordered for an ailing Knicks team, New York can use Bogdanovic’s contract to match salary if a superstar-level player becomes available on the trade market this summer.

Also, the Knicks only surrendered second-round picks in both the Raptors and Pistons deals.

They own not only each of their own first-round picks through 2031, but also the Mavericks’ top-10 protected first in 2024, Milwaukee’s top-four protected first-rounder in 2025, and a future first-round pick each from both the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards.

In short, Rose found a way not only to maximize New York’s current pursuit of an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals — or beyond — but also to simultaneously keep the Knicks well positioned to acquire a star in a trade this summer.

Or as Hart simply put: “I think Leon and the front office was cookin’ today.”

Cookin’, indeed.

It’s inspiring for him to hear Madison Square Garden cheer his every move in the latter stages of his career. It’s inspiring for Gibson to hear fans clamoring for head coach Tom Thibodeau to sub him into the game. And it’s inspiring for his teammates to see how he’s able to contribute impactful minutes at 38 years old.

“He’s a true professional,” said starting Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo. “Whenever he gets the phone call, he shows up in shape ready to go.”

The Knicks signed Gibson to a 10-day contract on Jan. 30, and Thursday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks marked the final game covered by the deal.

The Knicks can sign him to a second 10-day contract, but as of postgame Thursday, such a decision hadn’t been finalized — yet.

The Knicks are in desperate need of bodies having been ravaged by a slew of mid-season injuries. Mitchell Robinson (ankle surgery), Julius Randle (dislocated shoulder) and OG Anunoby (right elbow surgery) had already gone down before Isaiah Hartenstein left Thursday’s game with a left Achilles injury at halftime.

Thibodeau said the topic of a second 10-day deal for Gibson hadn’t been broached yet.

“I haven’t even had any time – I haven’t talked to Leon,” he said after the game. “So it would be premature to say anything.”

Thibodeau, though, said he’s “hopeful” the Knicks can bring back Gibson on a second 10-day deal.

“It’s obvious. He’s been terrific. On any team, at any time, he’s a great addition,” said Thibodeau. “So I’m hopeful. Leon will get everything and we’ll always do what’s best for the team. But everyone in the organization loves him and has an appreciation for him.”

Gibson, of course, would love to stick around in New York.

He’s from Brooklyn. He still gets the respect of his hometown fans. Plus he knows what Thibodeau wants to do on both ends of the floor, this being his fourth stint for the same head coach. He played for Thibs in Chicago, Minnesota and now twice with the Knicks.

Gibson, though, understands the NBA is a business, and the Knicks will do what they feel is best for the roster — even if it doesn’t mean bringing back a familiar face.

“The staff, management, they’ve been good to me,” he said. “They don’t owe me anything. That’s family, and it’s a blessing. I don’t take it for granted, just to get those phone calls while I’m at home working out, it’s a blessing. Like I said before, I’m appreciative of the opportunity, and this is a great team. So it’s family no matter what.”

For what it’s worth, Josh Hart is a proponent of bringing Gibson back on another 10-day deal.

“For sure, for sure. Obviously, that’s not my call. I don’t got that power,” Hart said. “But for sure I wanna see him back with us. He’s someone that you can always count on, someone that stays ready. … But yeah, he’s done everything we need him to do. So hopefully he’s back with it, but like I said, I don’t call the shots.”

Gibson said being able to contribute at this stage of his career validates all he’s been through to get to this point. He logged 22 minutes off the bench for a Knicks team that desperately needed his help at center.

In those 22 minutes, the Knicks outscored the Mavericks by eight. It was the highest plus-minus of anyone on the team despite Gibson finishing the night scoreless.

“At the end of the day, I was a late first-round pick. I was a little older than everybody in my class,” Gibson said. “To still be sticking around, one of the few guys that’s still left from my class, and then get the respect I still get every game, every night tonight, every team, the coaching staff, I’m just appreciative. It means that I’ve made my bones early, and I’m just trying to continue to just strive and help the guys around me.”

Gibson said it feels like he’s 38 years old — like he’s an old man — because there isn’t much practice time and he’s coming off the bench cold. At this stage of his career, this is what he’s prepared his body for.

He’s appreciative of every opportunity the league brings his way.

“I don’t cheat any steps of the game,” he said. “It’s all about the building process, and just like that out of nowhere, we just got hit with a whole bunch of injuries, so you’ve always gotta be prepared, but you’ve always gotta stay putting your little two cents in every day.”

After injuries to key players and a trade deadline move that sent four players to the Detroit Pistons for two players ineligible to suit up on Thursday, the Knicks entered their matchup against the Dallas Mavericks with just eight players available to compete ahead of tipoff.

Isaiah Hartenstein became the latest Knick to leave the court with an injury in their 122-108 loss.

The Knicks already had a lengthy injured list entering Thursday’s matchup against the Mavericks: Julius Randle (dislocated shoulder), OG Anunoby (right elbow surgery) and Mitchell Robinson (ankle surgery) were already ruled out before head coach Tom Thibodeau announced Jalen Brunson (sprained right ankle) and Jericho Sims (illness) as late scratches.

And with Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono and Malachi Flynn on outbound flights after a package deal sent them to Detroit in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, an already depleted Knicks roster stretched itself even more thin.

Now, Hartenstein’s availability could be in jeopardy, too,

Mavericks forward Dwight Powell contested Hartenstein’s layup at the rim at the 1:36 mark of the second quarter but landed on the back of Hartenstein’s left leg.

Hartenstein came up limping then played the remaining minute-plus of the first half but never came back to the court for the second half.

Shortly after, the Knicks ruled Hartenstein out for the remainder of the game with a sore left Achilles.

It’s an aggravation of the same injury that cost Hartenstein two games in recent weeks. He missed a Jan. 23 matchup against the Nets at Barclays Center, plus the ensuing game against the tired Denver Nuggets team on Jan. 25.

The Knicks listed Hartenstein as out with left Achilles tendinopathy for those two games. They have just three more games leading into the week-long NBA All-Star break, but two of the three opponents (Indiana and Orlando) are above-.500 Eastern Conference playoff opponents. The third is a Houston Rockets team competing for a Play-In Tournament spot out West.

But it’s concerning, to say the least, for a team that once touted its center depth as the best in all of basketball. Hartenstein is playing on a gimpy Achilles, and Robinson won’t return to on-court activities following his ankle surgery until after the All-Star break.

That leaves Precious Achiuwa, who has played well in recent games, Sims, who is battling an illness, and Taj Gibson, who is 38 years old an on a 10-day contract.

The Knicks lost Thursday’s matchup against the Mavericks, marking just their fourth loss since trading for OG Anunoby on Jan. 1.

With Brunson out, Donte DiVincenzo led the way with 36 points and made seven threes on 12 tries. Josh Hart recorded his second career triple double (23 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds) with both coming this season, Miles McBride added 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Achiuwa added 13 points and 16 rebounds.

It was a valiant effort for a depleted Knicks roster but no match for the super-scoring Mavericks, powered by 39 points and seven threes from Luka Doncic. Five Mavericks players scored in double digits. Kyrie Irving finished with 16 points on 17 attempts, and ex-Knicks wing Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 points off the bench.

Doncic electrified the Madison Square Garden with a flurry of fourth-quarter threes that stifled a Knicks attempt at a late-game rally. Yet on the possession following a Doncic step-back three, plus a flex on the crowd, the Knicks forced a turnover by sending the double team when he attempted to hero-ball his way into a heat check.

And given the shorthanded roster, minutes piled for those available to play on Thursday. McBride and DiVincenzo, for example, played 45 and 43 minutes, respectively.

Hart played a hair 39 minutes and the 38-year-old Taj Gibson, on a 10-day contract, played 22 minutes off the bench. So did Charlie Brown Jr., who spends most of his time in the G-League with the Westchester Knicks but chipped in to give the Knicks a lift on Thursday.

Jacob Toppin, younger brother of ex-Knick Obi Toppin and a contestant in the upcoming NBA Slam Dunk Contest, also get the nod and scored his first NBA points fittingly on a putback dunk.

The Knicks have two days to rest up before hosting the Pacers. They then travel to Houston, then Orlando, for their final two games before the All-Star break.

The Knicks announced on Thursday that Anunoby underwent a procedure to remove a loose bone fragment in his right, shooting elbow.

It is a minor procedure, and Anunoby is expected to resume basketball activities in three weeks.

Anunoby tried resting his elbow as a method of recovery, but surgery was viewed as the quickest and most effective way for him to return to action at 100 percent health. The team is optimistic Anunoby will be for the latter stretch of the regular season and the postseason, where his presence will be felt for a team hoping to build on last season’s appearance in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

“Like all players coming back from an injury, there will be a ramp up and then, that’s — we’re hopeful for [Anunoby’s return at 100 percent for the end of the season]. But he’s gonna miss some time,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said ahead of tipoff against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. “But he’s in great shape. I said this about Julius [Randle] the other day: The fact that they’re in great shape makes that easier to transition back to. It’s not like they’re not in good shape and then they get in worse shape, and then it’s a longer road back. I think the road back will be quick for both guys.”

The Knicks initially listed Anunoby as day-to-day with right elbow inflammation, but on Wednesday, they adjusted the injury report to reflect Anunoby as out with bone spur irritation.

Thibodeau said he was uncertain what day Anunoby underwent the procedure but noted the surgery occurred this week.

Anunoby last played on Jan. 27 against the Miami Heat. Thursday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks marked the sixth straight game he missed due to his elbow injury.

Thibodeau said he was unsure if Anunoby’s elbow injury predated the trade.

“It’s hard to say when it exactly happened because it was the inflammation first, and these things are not uncommon,” he said. “When you play in 50 games, most players are nicked up with something at this time of the year. So it was inflammation and we thought we could get through it, and unfortunately that didn’t happen.

“Then you gather the information, you consult the experts and you make a decision. So the process of what we did I think was really good, and obviously OG’s a big part of it, his agent is a big part of it, and then our medical team. So this is the best course of action for us.”

The provided injury timeline means Anunoby will miss — at minimum — the Knicks’ next nine games. The 2024 NBA All-Star break falls in the middle of his recovery period, which softens the blow for a Knicks team in need of its star forward back on the floor.

The Knicks have been dominant since the trade that sent R.J. Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a 2024 second-round pick via the Detroit Pistons to the Toronto Raptors in the deal that landed Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn — who was dealt to the Pistons ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline in the move that sent Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic to New York.

The Knicks went 12-2 in Anunoby’s first 14 games in New York and entered Thursday’s matchup against the Mavericks with a 16-3 record since Jan. 1.

Only the Cleveland Cavaliers boast a better record during that stretch with a 15-2 record since the turn of the calendar year.

Anunoby averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks per game since his arrival in New York, shooting 51.6% from the field and 39.1% from three-point range. The Knicks outscored their opponents by 252 points across the 14 games he played before his injury.

Anunoby’s shoulder surgery compounds a mounting injury problem for the Knicks, who are now down three starters: Julius Randle is also out an extended period of time after dislocating his right shoulder in the same Jan. 27 matchup against the Heat, and Mitchell Robinson has been out since Dec. 8 after a stress fracture in his left ankle required surgery.

Robinson is set to resume on-court activity after the All-Star break.

Softening the blow dealt by Anunoby’s injury, however, are the moves made by an active front office that addressed its weaknesses ahead of the trade deadline.

The Knicks traded Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono and Malachi Flynn to the Pistons for Burks and Bogdanovic.

Bogdanovic has averaged 20 points per game in a season-and-a-half in Detroit, and Burks is a reliable three-point shooter with playmaking instincts and positional size to guard the wing.

The Knicks may be without Anunoby — and both Randle and Robinson — for some time, but they have positioned themselves to have a deep roster when they return to full health.

In getting elbow surgery now, the Knicks are hopeful Anunoby returns to full health for the latter stretch of the season.

They became a much better basketball team when they signed Jalen Brunson, the best point guard they’ve had since Clyde, as a free agent away from the Mavericks. They got even better when they lengthened their wings and really lengthened their team by trading for OG Anunoby (who will miss at least the next 3 weeks after undergoing elbow surgery). Everybody can see how they’ve looked and how they’ve played since that trade, even after Julius Randle and Anunoby got hurt.

But now Leon Rose makes this kind of move at the trade deadline for the kind of player, Bogdanovic, who is exactly this in a season when he’s averaging 20 a game, even at the age of 34:

Someone who can be the third-best player on a contending team.

It is what the Knicks are when they are whole again: They are a contender again. Rose is signaling to the rest of the league that he believes he has the horses to make a run. His team was sitting right there at No. 4 in their conference when he made this trade, two games behind the Cavaliers in the loss column, whom they beat in the playoffs last year, and tied with the Bucks, and who knows what the Bucks are going to look like in the spring.

At the same time the Knicks are six games behind the Celtics, which means six behind the best record in the league. Even with this trade, the Knicks still don’t have the horses the Celtics do, especially if old friend Kristaps Porzingis remains healthy. But when was the last time the Knicks looked at first place in the Eastern Conference and didn’t feel as if it were as distant a sight from 33rd St. as Yankee Stadium?

The Knicks have made big moves before. They made one for Carmelo Anthony once, another February, 13 years ago. But they were a 28-26 team when they made that trade with the Nuggets, and even though they would win 54 games a couple of years later. No one thought they would make a run in that 2010-11 season.

No. This move at least has a chance to be as big as the one for Latrell Sprewell turned out to be 25 years ago, one that changed everything for the Knicks of 1998-99 despite the fact that they would end up finishing No. 8 in the East. No one knew when the trade happened, but Sprewell becoming a Knick was the beginning of one of the most exciting rides the Knicks have ever had, one that included knocking off the No. 1 Heat and going all the way to the NBA Finals.

Do Bojan and Burks mean that is going to happen again?

It would be silly to game this out that far, with this much season left, and not knowing when Randle is going to be back, because no one is sure about that, whatever smiley-faces the Knicks are putting on his recovery. But Heat Culture isn’t doing much good for Pat Riley so far this season. Joel Embiid just had knee surgery, and will be evaluated in a month, and then we’ll see where he is and where the Sixers are.

You know where the Knicks are going to be in a couple of weeks, though? Playing the Celtics at the Garden, at which point the Knicks that have been reimagined since the start of the season get a chance to see how they match up against the best team in the league. For that one night, and maybe more nights like it the rest of the way, Knicks vs. Celtics might feel like a fair fight again.

The Knicks aren’t the only team that gets better at the deadline, of course. The Sixers make it clear that they’re not throwing in the towel by making a trade for Buddy Hield. Still: In the early afternoon of the trade deadline, the biggest noise came from the Knicks.

There was a feeling around the league that the Sixers might try to get Bogdanovic away from the Pistons. The Knicks got him instead. As their sport moves up on what always feels like its traditional halfway point, despite the number of games that have been played, the Knicks officially make their fans believe that their own season is just starting.

No one knew back in February of ’99 where the combination of Sprewell and Allan Houston in the same backcourt would take the Knicks. Everybody sure found out in the spring, as the Knicks were on their way back to the Finals for the first time since ‘94. Here’s what Knicks GM Ernie Grunfeld said at the time of the Sprewell trade:

“Sprewell is an explosive offensive player. He’s a fierce competitor. I think he’s committed to winning.”

Bogdanovich isn’t the explosive player Sprewell was. Few the Knicks have ever had played with that kind of fire. But Sprewell had averaged 21 points a game in the five full seasons before the Knicks got him. Bogdanovich has averaged 18. He’s one of those guys whose real position is basketball player.

The Knicks took their own position on Thursday: They don’t want to be stuck in the middle any longer. Seriously.

The Knicks accomplished their goal of bolstering the bench with a Deadline Day move with the Detroit Pistons.

New York has traded Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono and a pair of second-round picks to Detroit in exchange for veteran guard Alec Burks and forward Bojan Bogdanovic, according to ESPN.

It is a move that clearly improves the roster without costing the Knicks’ front office any of its valuable first-round draft pick capital, which the organization is hoarding for an offseason move should a marquee player become available via trade.

The deal will also help the team stay afloat amid worsening injury news to its starting forward.

The Knicks updated OG Anunoby’s right elbow injury from just inflammation to bone spur irritation on Wednesday, a clear signal the star wing’s situation is more severe than initially thought of. Anunoby has been ruled out for the sixth consecutive game against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.

And with Julius Randle expected to miss an extended period of time after dislocating his right shoulder, the Knicks desperately needed scoring help to take some of the offensive pressure off of Jalen Brunson.

Thursday’s move kills two birds with one stone: It gives Brunson support while the Knicks work through their injuries and bolsters a struggling second unit for when the starters return to good health.

The Knicks’ bench ranked second-to-last in scoring ahead of only the Phoenix Suns following the Dec. 31 Anunoby trade after sending Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Immanuel Quickley and former No. 3 overall pick R.J. Barrett — both of whom captained the second unit pre-trade — to the Toronto Raptors

The bench scoring woes project to change with both Burks and Bogdanovic en route to The Big Apple.

Burks is a Tom Thibodeau favorite having played for Thibs’ Knicks in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Familiarity played a role in the Knicks’ pursuit of the 32-year-old wing who is shooting 40% or better from three in each of his last five seasons. Burks averaged 12.6 points over his last season-and-a-half in Detroit and has proven capable of facilitating offense with averages of three assists per game off the bench in his final season in New York.

But make no mistake: Bogdanovic is the darling of the deal.

The Knicks have had interest in Bogdanovic for several seasons and finally landed their man on Thursday. The Croatian forward has averaged 20-plus points over the past season-and-a-half in Detroit and is a career 39.5% three-point shooter who was part of two high-pressure playoff seasons with Donovan Mitchell’s Utah Jazz in 2021 and 2022.

The pair of former Pistons slide perfectly into the rotation both while shorthanded due to injury and when the Knicks return to full strength. Without Randle and Anunoby, the Knicks have started Precious Achiuwa and Josh Hart at the four and three spots, respectively.

And while it has worked to the tune of a 4-1 record since both Randle and Anunoby left the rotation, the Knicks needed to improve their roster to maintain their standing as a top-four team in the Eastern Conference.

Bogdanovic and Burks project to shoulder a heightened offensive load while the Knicks’ stars recover, and when Anunoby and Randle return to form, the Detroit expats will improve a bench New York needs solidified to improve its odds at a second consecutive deep playoff run.

The Knicks were among the more active teams approaching Thursday’s 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline, and they were expected to move Grimes. The three-and-D wing quickly became the primary trade chip for a New York front office uninterested in parting ways with significant draft capital.

The organization is holding onto said first-round picks in case a star-level player becomes available on the trade market this summer. The Knicks were able to get a deal done while only surrendering second-round capital.

Grimes fell out of Thibodeau’s starting lineup after complaining of a limited offensive role earlier in the season. The No. 25 overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft is in the third year of his rookie contract. He now gets an opportunity to showcase the range of his game in Detroit on a Pistons team whose 7-43 record as of the trade ranks worst in the NBA.

The Knicks were also expected to move Fournier, who holds an $18.857 million expiring contract that the Knicks have been attempting to use as salary filler in a deal all season.

They needed to include Flynn and Arcidiacono in order to meet the deal’s salary-matching requirement of a deal: The Knicks took back Bogdanovic’s $20 million salary plus $10.4 million more acquiring Burks.

Bogdanovic has one more year worth $19 million on his contract, but it is only guaranteed for $2 million if the Knicks waive him by June 29.

Burks is in a contract year and will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The Knicks made a deal that improves the team now but still maintains its flexibility in case the front office decides to push its chips to the center of the table next summer.

It’s a win-now move while leaving room for an even bigger win later — a win-win for the Knicks, the front office, and sustained success in New York for seasons to come.

The Knicks have been one of the more active teams in attempting to bolster their roster ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline, and after improving the team with the Dec. 30 OG Anunoby deal, the Leon Rose-led front office remains on the hunt for moves that will add depth to a team with a struggling second unit.

Not, however, at the cost of flexibility next offseason, when the organization hopes to push its chips to the center of the table in pursuit of a star who can lift the team to championship heights.

Here’s what you need to know as the trade deadline draws near.

WHAT DO THE KNICKS NEED?

Help in the back court, and immediately.

More specifically, the Knicks need more production out of the backup two-guard spot.

It’s why they’ve been tied to players like Detroit’s Alec Burks, Indiana’s Bruce Brown, Utah’s Jordan Clarkson and, to a lesser extent, Atlanta’s Dejounte Murray.

Miles “Deuce” McBride has proven himself a capable three-point shooter and point-of-attack defender, and Josh Hart — even with a self-proclaimed broken jump shot — is an energizer bunny who produces with hustle plays every second he’s on the floor.

The Knicks desperately need a scoring punch off the bench, where they used to deploy Immanuel Quickley, a runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year last season. Quickley and R.J. Barrett, who previously captained the Knicks’ second unit, were moved as part of the Anunoby deal.

The Knick bench ranks second-to-last in points per game since the deal.

The organization would also prefer the player they acquire also not be a negative asset on the defensive end of the floor.

WHAT ABOUT THE BACKUP CENTER SPOT?

The Knicks have been confident about their depth at center, and with Mitchell Robinson set to return to on-court activities after the NBA All-Star break, they have even more reason to be content with their situation at the five.

It must be noted that Precious Achiuwa, who arrived in the Anunoby deal, has found his footing in Tom Thibodeau’s rotation. Thibodeau has been pleased with Achiuwa’s ability to play both the four and five spots. He has scored in double figures in each of his last four games.

In fact, Robinson’s looming return creates a potential logjam at the five given Jericho Sims was a training camp standout who has fallen out of the rotation, even with Robinson’s injury.

Sims missed Tuesday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies with an illness and is listed as questionable for Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks.

WHAT ARE THE TRADE RESTRICTIONS?

Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn, who each arrived in the Anunoby deal, cannot be aggregated in a trade until two months have passed from the time of their acquisition.

The trade deadline will have passed by then, however, which means if either are to be moved at the deadline, they will have to be traded individually.

This means if the Knicks were to move Achiuwa — who makes $4.3 million this season — or Flynn, who is due $3.8 million this season, plus another player to create enough cap space to take back a player with a larger salary, they would need to find a third team to take Achiuwa or Flynn since they cannot be traded with another player to the same team.

The same goes for Anunoby, though there is a zero percent chance the Knicks trade him given the impact he has had since his arrival in New York.

WHAT ABOUT KNICKS CAP SPACE?

The Knicks have $157.3985 million in active roster cap.

The 2023-24 NBA salary cap is set at $136.021 million, which means the Knicks are more than $21 million over the cap entering the deadline.

The Knicks, however, have under $8 million in luxury tax room.

Because the Knicks are under the apron, they can take back 200 percent of the salary they send out, plus an additional $250,000, so long as the outgoing salary does not exceed $7.5 million.

If the Knicks were to trade a player who makes between $7.5 and $29 million, they would only be eligible to take back $7.5 million more than the outgoing salary.

Using Burks, who makes $10.4 million this season, as an example, the Knicks would need to send at least $5.125 million in outgoing salary to be able to absorb Burks’ contract into the payroll legally.

How they get to that number is the question: Jericho Sims makes $1.9 million, Ryan Arcidiacono makes $2 million, Quentin Grimes makes $2.3 million, Flynn makes $3.8 million and Achiuwa earns $4.3 million this season.

Grimes, however, is viewed as one of the Knicks’ most valuable, non draft-asset trade chips. The Knicks are not believed to have interest in moving Grimes merely for salary-matching purposes.

WHAT ABOUT A TRADE FOR A SUPERSTAR?

Well, one isn’t available. And the Knicks aren’t going to trade for just any star. They are holding pat for the right star, the kind of player who elevates what’s already in place. The kind of player who makes the Knicks a legitimate contender, not just a pretender incapable of getting over the hump in a series against the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks or a healthy Philadelphia 76ers team.

That kind of player may become available over the summer after a failed playoff run. That kind of player could also become available midway through next season, when offseason additions often prove fruitless.

The Knicks aren’t going to rush, nor are they going to make a knee-jerk decision to add a player who may not be the right fit.

They will be measured. They will be calculated. They will wait for the right time to strike.

Jalen Brunson knifed through the lane with five-and-a-half minutes left in the fourth quarter attempting to put away a depleted, but resilient Memphis Grizzlies team at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

It’s a move he’s done time and time again — only this time it went awry.

This time, his right ankle buckled and his body followed, then he rolled back and forth in pain on The Garden floors.

That’s what DiVincenzo saw: He was in the far corner for play and only caught the aftermath.

An unfamiliar, deafening silence befell The World’s Most Famous Arena. The first-time NBA All-Star who doubles as the best basketball player in the city had suddenly fallen to a right ankle injury.

DiVincenzo, however, has played with Brunson dating back to their 2016 NCAA championship season at Villanova, and again when they won it a second time in 2018. He knows Brunson is as tough as they come, after all, the starting point guard gutted through a fourth-quarter injury earlier this season and didn’t miss the following game.

“Playing with him for so long and knowing [how tough he is] — I said, ‘you good?’ And he said, ‘I’m good,’ and I didn’t ask anything after that,” DiVincenzo said after the game. “I don’t worry about Jalen at all. He’s one of the toughest guys in the league. I’m not worried.”

Brunson’s injury alone isn’t a cause for concern, but the cumulative effect the injury bug has had on the Knicks is beginning to take its toll.

He is the fourth Knicks starter to suffer an injury in the past two months: Mitchell Robinson suffered a stress fracture in his left ankle on Dec. 8 that required surgery, Julius Randle dislocated his right shoulder against the Miami Heat 10 days ago, and Tuesday’s victory over the Grizzlies marked OG Anunoby’s fifth game in a row missed with right elbow inflammation.

For what it’s worth, Brunson tightened his shoes, rose to his feet under his own power, then walked to the sidelines but did not go directly to the locker room. He left Madison Square Garden without crutches or a walking boot but with a slight limp in his walk.

As of the end of the game, head coach Tom Thibodeau knew nothing of Brunson’s injury status other than he was being evaluated by the medical team. As was key reserve and fill-in starter Josh Hart, who suffered an apparent knee injury in the fourth quarter as well. Hart left The Garden shortly behind Brunson with no visible impairment with his gait.

And as for the crowd who believes Brunson should have spent the entirety of the fourth quarter on the bench, the depleted Grizzlies were rolling after the Knicks built a 28-point lead with 48 seconds left in the third quarter.

By the time Thibodeau turned back to Brunson, who sat until the 8:08 mark of the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies cut the Knicks’ lead to 20. And when Brunson got hurt, Memphis cut the deficit down to just 10.

In fact, the Grizzlies made it a four-point game at the 2:05 mark of the period before DiVincenzo’s three restored momentum in the Knicks’ favor.

It was a near-blunder at The Garden against a Grizzlies team that missed all five of their starters and a large chunk of their normal rotation players.

DiVincenzo pointed to the Dallas Mavericks, who led the Milwaukee Bucks by 25 then trailed by as many as 15 in a 12-point loss that cemented Doc Rivers’ status as head coach of the Eastern Conference All-Stars next week.

“In this league, no lead is safe. You see how many times throughout the season so far, you see a 20-point lead, 25-point lead just go and flip the other way,” DiVincenzo said. “Everybody wants to play, and when your name’s called, you go out there and you do your job.”

The Knicks will now be tested beyond belief. DiVincenzo believes Brunson will be able to play, but his status has not yet been determined for Thursday’s matchup against the Mavericks, the team he left to sign a contract with the Knicks two summers ago,

If Brunson can’t go, it’ll mean more DiVincenzo, who has been on a scoring tear in games Anunoby and Randle have missed due to injury.

DiVincenzo is averaging 27.8 points over his last five games and has made at least four threes in each of those games. He is ready to pick up the slack if Brunson can’t go — as he’s done already over the past few games — but isn’t counting his All-Star teammate out just yet.

“I think recently I have been doing that, but that’s not my focus. My mindset is he’s playing. I don’t question that at all, I’m not worried about him,” he said. “And whatever the lineup is that we have, guys are in the NBA for a reason. Thibs has a blueprint for us laid out and a game plan. You follow that and everybody be aggressive and you’ve seen guys have big nights, so I’m not too worried about it.”

On a drive to the rim, Jalen Brunson turned his right ankle while guarded by Grizzlies forward G.G. Jackson at the 5:31 mark of the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ 123-113 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.

Brunson rolled back and forth on the court for several moments then tightened his sneaker and limped to to the sidelines, where a team trainer tended to his injury.

He did not go to the locker room but did not return to the game, either.

An already shorthanded Knicks team staved off a desperate Grizzlies team to advance to a 16-3 record since Jan. 1, but the injuries are piling at Madison Square Garden.

Brunson’s ankle could be potentially devastating for a Knicks team marred by injury in recent weeks.

The Knicks entered Tuesday’s matchup against the Grizzlies short three starters (Mitchell Robinson — ankle surgery; Julius Randle — dislocated shoulder recovery; and OG Anunoby — right elbow inflammation) and a key role player (Quentin Grimes — right knee sprain). If Brunson’s injury proves severe, Donte DiVincenzo will be the only member of the Knicks’ starting rotation who is able to suit up as of Tuesday.

The Knicks, however, struggled to put away a depleted Grizzlies team lacking most of its rotation players on Tuesday night.

The Grizzlies were without virtually every rotation player: Ja Morant (shoulder surgery), Desmond Bane (left ankle sprain), Jaren Jackson Jr. (right hip soreness), Marcus Smart (torn right finger), Brandon Clarke (left Achilles), Santi Aldama (tailbone contusion), Jake LaRavia  (left ankle sprain), Xavier Tillman (left knee), and the recently acquired Victor Oladipo (left patella) all sat for the Grizzlies at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks led by 28 points at the 48-second mark of the third quarter, and Brunson was watching from the sidelines until the Grizzlies chipped away at the deficit. Memphis cut the Knicks’ lead to as little as four to make it a 113-109 game at the 2:05 mark of the fourth quarter.

Brunson tallied 26 points and eight assists through the first three quarters and made a technical free throw in the fourth quarter before rolling his ankle. He scored 17 points in the first quarter alone and shot 11-of-21 from the field to go with his three steals on the night.

Donte DiVincenzo scored a game-high 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting, Josh Hart finished with a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds), and both Isaiah Hartenstein and Precious Achiuwa scored 17 points apiece.

Five Grizzlies players scored in double figures, not including former Knicks point guard Derrick Rose, who was showered with applause when he checked in off the bench. Rose finished with seven points and two assists.

If Brunson is forced to miss time, the Knicks will lean on Miles “Deuce” McBride, who has been next up in the guard rotation after the Immanuel Quickley trade,

McBride finished with 12 points and two steals in 32 minutes off the bench on Tuesday. The Knicks will also have to lean more heavily on DiVincenzo, whose usage has spiked with Randle and Anunoby out of the rotation.

The Knicks were without Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Quentin Grimes, Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims for their matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Here are the updates head coach Tom Thibodeau provided ahead of tipoff.

MITCHELL ROBINSON

Tom Thibodeau said Robinson is progressing well after undergoing ankle surgery that was initially feared to keep him out the entirety of the regular season.

Robinson is now expected to return to on-court activities after the mid-February NBA All-Star break. The Knicks are optimistic about his odds of returning to action before the playoffs begin in April.

Robinson took what he described as “a wrong step” in the Knicks’ Dec. 8 loss to the Boston Celtics and underwent surgery in mid-December to repair what the team called a stress fracture in his left ankle.

“[He’s] doing better and better, progressing, and It think probably right after the all star break, he’ll start to do activities on the court,” Thibodeau said ahead of tipoff against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. “So we’re very pleased with how it’s coming along. So it’s positive.”

Thibodeau thoroughly detailed Robinson’s rehab process, which includes exercises in the pool and on the AlterG anti-gravity treadmill before a return to weightlifting.

“Then they’ll clear him to get onto the court with form shooting and that sort of thing, then he’ll progress to the running part, the jumping part,” Thibodeau said. “Then you start off 1-on-0 and then 1-on-1, 2-on-2, so there’s a progression to where you get to the 5-on-5 and then you’re cleared for practice/“

Thibodeau said Robinson is currently doing limited form shooting but the team is trusting his rehab process, however long it may be.

“We have to go step by step, just follow the medical protocol until he’s cleared to start running, and that’ll probably be right after [the] All-Star [break],” he said. “You have to trust your medical and you have to trust the player, so we’re not gonna out him in harms way. We’re gonna make sure that he’s completely healthy before he gets out there.”

OG ANUNOBY

Anunoby missed his fifth straight game with what the team is calling inflammation in his right, shooting elbow. Thibodeau didn’t offer much information on the status of Anunoby’s injury and continued to insist the forward is day-to-day, even though he is going on missing two weeks of action.

“Not quite sure. He had some soreness initially,” Thibodeau said ahead of tipoff against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. “Most guys at this time of the year, 50 games in, you’re dealign with something, so everyone has something right now.

“When I have more, we’ll give it to you.”

QUENTIN GRIMES

Grimes missed his third straight game with a sprained right knee.

Thibodeau said Grimes and Anunoby are day-to-day “until we clear them.”

JERICHO SIMS

Backup Knicks big man Jericho Sims participated in shoot-around Tuesday morning but missed the matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.

“Just not feeling well,” Thibodeau said.

WHAT NOW?

With their slew of injuries, the Knicks will continue to lean on Isaiah Hartenstein, Precious Achiuwa and Josh Hart as reserves who have been thrust into the starting lineup.

The Knicks entered Tuesday’s matchup against the Grizzlies with a 3-1 record in games Anunoby and Randle have missed due to injury.

“Mitch got hurt and Isaiah went in and has done a terrific job,” Thibodeau said. “Precious came in and initially was’t playing a lot, now he’s playing a lot and he’s playing well. So whoever that next guy is, get in there and play well and get the job done. We have big belief in all the guys on our roster.”