New York Knicks: Analyzing the Alec Burks signing

The New York Knicks were mostly quiet on day one of free agency, but the one signing they made was veteran wing Alec Burks.

NBA free agency never disappoints. Despite the unique circumstances this year, it was no different. The first day of free agency had serious 2016 vibes. Some teams were tossing money around — here’s looking at you, Detroit Pistons — but the New York Knicks weren’t in that category.

Outside of speculation, the Knicks were mostly quiet during Leon Rose’s first offseason. The one signing New York made was bringing Alec Burks on board with a modest one-year, $6 million contract. Burks started his career with the Utah Jazz, where he was drafted by Knicks assistant general manager Walt Perrin and coached by Knicks assistant coach Johnnie Bryant.

Burks has bounced around a lot since he last saw Perrin and Bryant. The Knicks will be his fifth team since leaving Utah via trade early in the 2017-18 season.

We didn’t see Alec Burks connected with the Knicks before he signed, but the relationships are there. Still, it would be surprising if Burks were a part of this team in the long term. This feels more like the Marcus Morris signing last year.

The Knicks are likely signing Burks to trade him at the deadline. If the new front office can get another pick, that makes it worth it. If Burks can keep up his play from last season, New York shouldn’t have a problem flipping him.

The 29-year-old is coming off the best shooting season of his career. He shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range on 4.6 attempts per game, including a red hot stretch following a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers where he shot 41.6 percent on 4.3 attempts per game.

Burks has been working on the deep ball. His 3-point attempt rate has steadily increased over the past three seasons, with a dramatic increase coming in 2019-20. The former Sacramento King attempted 301 3-pointers last season, which shattered his previous high of 168 from 2018-19. The most impressive part was that Burks’ percentage went up.

A large part of Burks’ success can be attributed to his success on pull-up 3-pointers. He hasn’t frequently been a prolific scorer on those shots, but last season Burks was one of the league’s most efficient shooters on pull-up triples.

Burks was one of 64 players who attempted 100 pull-up 3-pointers last season, per NBA Stats. Out of those 64, Burks ranked sixth in percentage, converting on 39.4 percent of his attempts. It’d be nice to have a guy who can pull up and hit a three. For context, short-term Knick Marcus Morris led the team in pull-up 3-pointers made last season with 40. The recently departed Damyean Dotson was second with 16.

Burks is also a threat from the corners. If Tom Thibodeau is serious about integrating corner threes into the offense, then Burks can help that front. He shot 28-of-59 on corner triples last season, good for 47.4 percent.

Last season’s Knicks ranked 28th in offensive rating, and their putrid shooting was a big part of those failures. New York ranked 30th in 3-pointers made, 29th in effective field goal percentage and 30th in free throw percentage. You can make a strong argument that they were the worst shooting team in the league, which makes them desperate for shooting help of any kind.

But there is reason to question Burks’ performance too. Burks nailed 116 3-pointers last season, but he’d only made 50 3-pointers twice in nine seasons before that. Before last season, Burks was a career 35.5 percent 3-point shooter. He was basically league-average. Burks was a stud on pull-up 3-pointers last season. But in 2018-19, he shot just 28-of-79 (29.7 percent) on pull-up triples.

Burks does his best work when he has the ball in his hands. He actually shot higher last season on pull-ups (39.4) than he did on catch and shoots (37.7). Last season, more than 35 percent of his possessions came as the pick and roll ball handler — per Second Spectrum.

You could pretty safely call Burks a streaky shooter. Last season’s hot shooting just happened to come in a contract year. We saw Morris lead the league in 3-point percentage during his stretch with the Knicks last season. It helped him get a $64 million contract, but more importantly, it helped the Knicks get a first-round pick.

But New York got Alec Burks on a one year contract. It’s a good deal on a fair salary, especially compared to the other numbers that were being thrown around on Friday. Burks likely won’t move the needle much but he addresses the Knicks greatest need — shooting. It’s something the previous regime inexplicably never did. Leon Rose and his crew are off to a good start.