New York Knicks: Grading their signings in NBA free agency

New York Knicks free agency signing No. 3: Alec Burks.

After taking a flier at the start of the 2020 season on Alec Burks, the Knicks were rewarded with a solid season. He averaged 12.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 25.6 minutes per game. The ten-year veteran certainly repaid the Knicks’ faith in him.

The Knicks then rewarded Burks with a three-year, $30.0 million deal. This is a solid move by the Knicks as Burks is a good offensive spark off the bench. Given the rest of their signings and the makeup of their roster, it is unlikely that Burks will be a regular starter.

During the last regular season, Burks had 11 games where he scored 20 or more points, most of these were off the bench. He even had a game where he scored 30 points. This scoring was crucial for the Knicks as he took some of the pressure off Derrick Rose as the bench leader.

His value was further highlighted in the playoffs where his 27 points in the first game helped make up for the lack of production from Elfrid Payton who was a non-entity in these playoffs. If Burks can string some of these performances together throughout this season then he makes the Knicks even harder to beat.

Grade: B+