Burke tunes up for free agency
Trey Burke has been through an NBA catalogue already, from lottery pick to failure to revitalize in New York.
His next chapter is both exciting and uncertain.
As the Knicks point guard awaits his first real foray into unrestricted free agency this summer, Burke outlined his approach and pitch in an interview with the Daily News on Monday. His stated preference is to remain with the Knicks, but the 26-year-old also understands that may not be feasible.
“I know how the business goes and if that is not an option, you’re always auditioning for other teams. But personally, on record, I want to be here in New York City,” he said. “You just never know, man. You never know in this league. Try not to put all your eggs in one basket because it is a business at the end of the day.”
Left unsaid by Burke is the very murky and fluid situation regarding the Knicks’ point guard spot. The only one under contract through next season is Frank Ntilikina, who is enduring a second straight disappointing season and has logged two straight DNPs. Emmanuel Mudiay emerged as a starter with a few breakthrough performances, but the math makes it difficult to re-sign him in the summer given the $12 million cap hit.
Burke is easier to retain. The Knicks own his Early Bird Rights and his cap hold is a minuscule ($1.6 million) compared to Mudiay’s, which is an imperative difference if the Knicks want to have enough money to chase Kevin Durant.
Ahead of his free agency, Burke switched agents last month from Toronto-based Mike George to Sam Permut of New York-based Roc Nation.
“Timing was very, very important for me,” Burke said. “It was already something I was kind of thinking about doing but a lot of people may look at it and think that my past agent Mike George, that he wasn’t doing his job, but that wasn’t the case at all.
“I just believe what I’m looking for in my career and where I’m trying to go, I feel like Roc Nation was a better fit for me, if that makes sense.”
Burke is currently sidelined with a Grade 1 left knee sprain and he’s unlikely to play Thursday at Boston. Along with rookie Allonzo Trier, Burke is the team’s best at creating his own shot, a valuable tool late in games when play slows to half-court sets.
Still, he remains very streaky on offense. A fourgame stretch last month when Burke averaged 25.8 points on 59% shooting was immediately followed by a four-game stretch of averaging 8.8 points on 19% shooting.
His defense – which was always cited as a deficiency after Burke was drafted ninth overall in 2013 – still requires improvement, but has been better under David Fizdale.
“I still don’t believe that I’ve shown the league the player that I can be. I still feel like there’s so much more growth in my game,” he said. “I feel young. Twenty-five or 26 years old and guys look at you as old, but I feel like I’ve got a lot of mileage left in my body.”
Burke’s certainly in a better position than the last two seasons, which were largely spent on the bench in Washington and in the G League in Westchester.
“You got to remember there were one or two years where I didn’t play much. All those miles on your body – traveling, playing, playing a lot of minutes. That goes a long way and I think two years I didn’t play much as a player and I have a lot left,” Burke said. “This season I want to prove that on both ends of the court. I think I’ve done a better job of proving that I can be a reliable defender. Defense I know has been a knock on my game. But it’s something that I’m conscious of and aware of and something I’m trying to improve every day.”
Improving with free agency in the back of his mind.
“I’m very excited. I know that it’s going to be a very busy summer. At the same time, I’m trying not to look forward to that. Try to stay in the moment because when you look and put your mind on that, that puts pressure on yourself,” he said. “And for me, I don’t think I’ve ever played basketball for a check, for money, and I think if I switch my mindset to that, I feel I can’t be the player I need to be for this team and I think that’d be a disservice to this team to just think about me, me, me and free agency.”