The Knicks have added another player who can shoot from beyond the arc.
One day after waiving veteran point guard Ramon Sessions, the Knicks officially announced they have signed guard Trey Burke from their G-League Westcheter roster ahead of Sunday's home game against New Orleans.
"I think my skill set fits the team, penetrating-wise, hitting the 3. I think I bring energy, as well," Burke said before the game. "I'm excited about the opportunity.
"I think I wanted to just start from scratch, kind of recreate my brand, show what I can do on a night-in, night-out basis with consistent minutes. I think going down there, a lot of people look at it as a knock. But for me, when I went down there, it was more so like a growing period for me. I kind of wanted to start over. A lot of people wouldn't understand that, but now that I'm here, I'm able to embrace it and I'm able to not take it for granted because I know I had go through those trails. And it's made me come out stronger, not only as a basketball player but as a man."
Burke, a former backcourt mate of Knicks swingman Tim Hardaway at Michigan, ranked second in the G-League in scoring this season at 26.6 points per game, while also averaging 5.4 assists per appearance.
The 6-foot-1 point guard averaged 10.6 points and 3.6 assists over NBA seasons with Utah and Washington after the Jazz made him the ninth overall selection in the 2013 NBA draft.
"Trey has obviously been in this league. Beginning of the year, he wanted to play with the Westchester Knicks and learn the system," Jeff Hornacek said. "Trey went down there and did a little more of the point guard. He scored, he can shoot threes. But he can penetrate and kick out to guys. I don't know if the opportunity will come today for him. But he lends something different than our other point guards."
The Daily News reported last week that some in the Knicks organization were interested in giving Burke an NBA deal, but there wasn't room on the roster until they waived Sessions and the remainder of his guaranteed $2.33 million contract on Saturday. Burke has been signed for the rest of the season with a team option for 2018-19.
"I think he probably had opportunities around the league to go to, but he kind of knew the style we were going to play and it's from my understanding that he wanted to volunteer to play with our Westchester team and learn that style," Hornacek said "Is that him thinking well, maybe this is my best chance? At that time Jarrett (Jack) was coming off an injury. And Ramon. And Frank (Ntilikina) was a rookie.
"So I think guys weigh their options when they're looking at what team can I get with. Trey probably thought that ahead of time and said this might be my best chance around the league if I stick with it and play with their D-League and I'm in their system, maybe they'll take a look at me. I guess that's what happened."
In 2014 with the Jazz, Burke buried a trey from the corner to beat the Knicks at the buzzer at MSG, negating a 46-point performance by Carmelo Anthony.
Burke, 25, was a teammate of Enes Kanter's with Utah, and he combined with Hardaway to lead Michigan to the NCAA Tournament's Final Four in 2013, losing to Louisville in the championship game.
"We haven't gotten a chance to really reminisce much since so much has been going on. But me and Tim, that's my guy," Burke said. "Everyone's seen us on TV playing back in college. But we have a great chemistry. Our families are really tight. It's great to be here and have guys that you are already familiar with. The transition isn't a bumpy as most guys' transitions would be. I'm excited to play and I'm happy to be here."
