New York Knicks: 3 candidates for a breakout season in 2018-19

2. Trey Burke

Coming into the 2017-18 season, point guard Trey Burke had not had the career he envisioned. After three forgettable seasons with the Utah Jazz where he struggled to find his shot and his playmaking skills decreased, Burke was shipped to Washington before the 2016-17 season.

The former 13th overall pick in the 2013 draft had only averaged five points as the backup to John Wall, only averaging 12 minutes a game in his only season in DC.

Signing with the Knicks in January 2018, due to their lack of production out of the point guard position, Burke took advantage of the opportunity and turned it into a career year. In 36 games, Burke matched his career high in points with 12.8 points a game, but his efficiency increased.

He shot 50 percent from the field and 36 percent from behind the arc.

With the addition of Emmanuel Mudiay late in the season and the increased playing time of then-rookie Frank Ntilikina, Burke still played well and outperformed both, becoming a fan favorite among Knicks fans and management.

Burke is a candidate to have a breakout season because of the point guard depth on the Knicks roster currently. With Ntilikina and Mudiay as the other point guards on the roster, Burke has the best offensive game out of the three and will stay on the floor if he continues to hit his shots.

With new coach Dave Fizdale at the helm, the Knicks look to try out different lineups with different players playing together. This will give players like Burke the opportunity to play with Ntilikina and become more of a scoring point guard off the ball.

Last year saw Burke play a lot of shooting guard for the Knicks and he thrived in that role. Burke plays the point guard position, but is a natural score first guard and can be used in many different lineups on this Knicks team.

He can play shooting guard if the Knicks decide to play small ball or he can handle an offense if he starts or comes off the bench. I expect Burke to continue his play from last year on a Knicks team who is desperate for offense and shooting.

His scoring and play making ability will be a weapon for Coach Fizdale to use and take advantage of this season.