Philadelphia 76ers: Trey Burke set to provide a new element

Despite being an unheralded free agent signing, Trey Burke nonetheless has plenty to offer the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019-20 season.

Trey Burke entered the league at the same time that Brett Brown commenced his stint as the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. As the No. 9 overall pick in 2013, Burke has been a complete journeyman ever since, with the Sixers becoming his fifth team in this space of time following his recent signing as a free agent.

In addition to bouncing around the league, Burke was in the unfortunate spot of finding himself in unsuccessful situations, with his 2016-17 season with the Washington Wizards representing the only time he has reached the postseason. Even so, Burke managed a total of just 20 minutes of playing time in his debut playoff run as the Wizards were eventually eliminated in the second round by the Boston Celtics.

Aside from his initial two seasons with the Utah Jazz, Burke has predominately had a role coming off the bench, starting in just 25 of his last 215 regular-season appearances. Despite being just 6’1″, Burke shot a modest 35.2 percent from distance last year. More often than not, he chose to work primarily from the midrange, while also possessing the ability to get to the basket.

As a team last season, just 35.2 percent of the Sixers’ made field goals came unassisted, which ranked 28th overall in the league. Conversely, a whopping 73.7 percent of Burke’s made field goals came unassisted. Overall, this ranked Burke behind only James Harden, Chris Paul, De’Aaron Fox and Russell Westbrook among players who appeared in at least 58 games while playing at least 19 minutes per game.

Burke’s ability to get off his shot will certainly be welcome news for the Sixers, especially as it pertains to their production coming off the bench. Throughout the 2018-19 regular season, the Sixers ranked 27th in bench scoring with 31.7 points per game.

Since Burke entered the league in the 2013-14 season, there have been just 15 performances in which a Sixers’ player has scored at least 24 points coming off the bench. Notably, none of those players remain on the roster, with the most recent example being the 29-point outing last season by rookie Landry Shamet, since traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.

For his part, Burke has scored at least 24 points as a reserve on 13 occasions over the past four seasons, which doesn’t include his career-high 42-point explosion in a starting role for the New York Knicks. To put this in perspective, just one Sixer has posted at least 40 points in a game since Burke entered the league — Joel Embiid — on six occasions.

Further to this point, just five players throughout the league over the past two seasons have recorded at least 42 points and 12 assists in a game: James Harden — five occasions — Trae Young, D’Angelo Russell, Bradley Beal and Burke.

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While his role with the Sixers will primarily be to create a spark off the bench, Burke has also shown recently that he can comfortably adjust when given extended playing time. In 15 games last season where he played at least 26 minutes, Burke averaged a commendable 18.4 points and 4.5 assists in 29.1 minutes per game, while returning the excellent .517/.369/.825 shooting splits.

With point guard Raul Neto also a summer addition for the Sixers, Burke is going to face no shortage of competition for playing time come opening night. However, given the point of difference he can offer the team, the signing of Trey Burke on a partially guaranteed one-year deal could prove to be a genuine bargain for Philly come the end of the season.