TrueFan Knicks Sign Trey Burke Reaction And Analysis

NEW YORK KNICKS SIGN TREY BURKE : TRUEFAN REACTION AND ANALYSIS

Written By Kyle Crabbe

Twitter: @KthetruestKnick

On Wednesday October 11, 2017 the New York Knicks announced the signing of former 2013 College Basketball Player of the Year PG Trey Burke. Trey Burke, 25, played last season with the Washington Wizards and continues the Knicks momentum of adding young talent of age 25 and under. Burke joins former college teammate and Knicks biggest off-season acquistion Tim Hardaway Jr in New York. Burke and Hardaway played together during the 2012-2013 NCAA Season and were referred to as the best backcourt in college basketball as they lead their Michigan Wolverines to the National Championship game that season. New York Knicks General Manager Scott Perry also has ties to Michigan University, he was an assistant coach there for 4 years in the 1990's.

Trey Burke, is a 6'1 Point Guard that is much heralded and was quite accomplished coming out of college and is the former 9^th overall selection of the 2013 NBA Draft. Once touted as the best Guard prospect of the 2013 NBA draft among young players like CJ McCollum, Dennis Schroder and Michael Carter-Williams. Burke posted a All-Rookie First team 1^st season in the league and in 4 seasons has averaged 15.4ppg/ 5.3Ast/ 0.8Stl per 36 minutes. Burke will come to New York to compete to make the 2017-18 New York Knicks roster and for minutes at the point guard position with Ramon Sessions and Jarrett Jack.

Likes

-Burke is a very talented and accomplished young player.

2013 National College Player of the Year

2013 Bob Cousy Award Winner (Best PG In Nation)

2014 All NBA Rookie 1^st Team

-Perfect fit for Coach Jeff Hornacek's Fast Paced Open Court Point Guard heavy offensive system.

-At age 25, Burke fits right into youth movement the New York Knicks have been building this off-season.

-Burke has chemistry with other Knicks newcomers, 1)Played two seasons in Utah with Knicks new center Enes Kanter, 2) Played 2 seasons in college backcourt with Tim Hardaway Jr

Questions

-How will Trey Burke fare in his competition with Ramon Sessions and Jarrett Jack?

-Known for his offensive abilities, can Burke develop to contribute consistently on the defensive side of the ball?

-What is Trey Burke's ceiling?

-Will Trey Burke in Coach Jeff Hornacek's system reach his huge potential?

TrueFan Verdict

Grade: B+

I think the Knicks signing of PG Trey Burke is another great signing that further shows the new NY Knicks front office has a clear direction in place. Trey Burke fits all the criteria that President Steve Mills and General Manager Scott Perry have continued to outline for the Knicks moving forward. Burke's talent is special because is he is a great scoring point guard that is also an effective distributor that can run a NBA team's offense. Burke is also known for raising his game up in big moments and clutch situations as I believe many Knicks fan's can still remember Burke hitting a game winning three-pointer in Madison Square Garden over Jr Smith in November 2014. Burke's skill set is also very similar to Ramon Sessions and Jarrett Jack which points to what the Knicks are looking to establish offensively.

This move also points to me that General Manager Scott Perry is attempting to put the pieces in place that match up with what made Coach Hornacek successful in Phoenix. In Phoenix, Hornacek had great success with a abundance of Point Guards that could get to the basket, score well, potent passers, that have the ability to push the pace and open up the court offensively. In those two years with Phoenix, Hornacek did very well and had these guard combinations:

2013( 7^th in ppg, 8^th in Pace )

PG'S

-Eric Bledsoe 17ppg/ 5ast/ 33mins

-Goran Dragic 20ppg/ 6ast/ 35mins

-Leonardo Barbosa 7ppg/ 1.5ast/ 18mins

-Ish Smith 4ppg/ 1ast/ 14mins

-Archie Goodwin 4ppg/ 1ast/ 10mins

WINGS

-Gerald Green

-PJ Tucker

-Markieff Morris

-Marcus Morris

2014( 11^th in ppg, 3^rd in Pace )

PG'S

-Eric Bledsoe 17ppg/ 6ast/ 34mins

-Goran Dragic 16ppg/ 4ast/ 33mins

-Brandon Knight 13ppg/ 4ast/ 30mins

-Isaiah Thomas 15ppg/ 4ast/ 25mins

WINGS

-Gerald Green

-Archie Goodwin

-PJ Tucker

-Markieff Morris

-Marcus Morris

In a 2013 interview we dug up, Coach Jeff Hornacek broke down his offensive philosophy that bares out the core points of his offensive system,“...First of all you have to play some defense. If you can get stops and have teams take bad shots or create turnovers, then you can really fly up and down the court. You have to have guys that can run. If you have slower guys it isn't going to work. You need to have guards that can really push the ball and distribute. That hasn't changed since basketball has been played.” With those comments we can expect this year's Knicks to be a very high paced team that gets into transition often.

And with the signing of Trey Burke, I believe he can be a great piece for Jeff Hornacek and the New York Knicks this upcoming season. When I look at Trey Burke's abilities and the team's that Coach Jeff Hornacek has had success with in Phoenix, I see a clear comparison between Burke and Cleveland Cavaliers PG Isaiah Thomas. Burke has a opportunity to have a similar year and impact that Thomas had in Phoenix with Coach Hornacek in 2014. Isaish Thomas like Burke is now, was coming into that season entering his age 25 season in the NBA and had signed to a logjam at Point Guard with the Phoenix Suns in the 2013-14 NBA season.

2014 Isaiah Thomas 15.2ppg/ 3.7ast/ 1.0stl/ 25.7mins in 46 Games w/ PHX.

-Basketball Reference has some numbers for Trey Burke age 25 statistical projection for 2017-18 Season. It's very interesting that these number are quite similar to those numbers Thomas enjoyed during the 2014 season with Coach Hornacek.

Age 25 Projections BB Per36

Trey Burke 16.2ppg/ 4.6ast/ 0.8stl

I strongly believe Burke's talent is comparably to Thomas and he has a opportunity this season to play a significant role with the 2017-18 Knicks in Coach Hornacek's system. I believe Burke has a huge advantage in place in the fact he has chemistry and familarity playing the two seasons in Utah with Knicks newcomer Center Enes Kanter. In addition to Kanter, Burke's closeness and previous success with Knicks new SG Tim Hardaway Jr can also help Burke carve out a significant role on this team. Burke can be a asset for the Knicks mainly because of his offensive talents. Burke is a true point guard and was once considered the best point guard prospect in the NBA. He has a great feel for the game and makes the right decisions as a trusted playmaker. Burke also holds Michigan University Single Season Assist Record with 260 in 2013. Burke during his rookie season was tied for 19^th in the league in assists per game with a average of 5.7. Over his first two seasons, Burke sported a great assist to turnover ratio of 2.88, which would of net him top 20 in that category.

Burke like most players however, has several parts of his game that could use improvement. The most glaring weakness in his game that could take his progress to the next level would be consistency on the defensive end. I feel that Burke is more than capable in the right defense scheme and system. As proof of that claim, with Burke as starting point guard and Enes Kanter both starting more than half of the games on the 2014-15 Utah Jazz team, that team finished first in the league in opponents points per game and was 4^th in defensive rating. That shows me Burke and Kanter have the potential to help this year's Knicks improve on what the most recent Knicks team's have struggled the most.

I continue to like what moves I'm seeing from the new New York Knicks front office and will love to see how Trey Burke comes in and adds to what the Knicks franchise is building.

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