The Utah Jazz have agreed to trade point guard Trey Burke to the Washington Wizards. The deal will see the Wizards send a second-round draft pick to the Jazz.
The news was first broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical:
Wizards will send second-round pick to Utah for Burke, who had fallen out of Jazz's future plans. Great reset button on Burke's young career
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2016
Trey Burke Traded to Washington Wizards
Burke averaged 10.6 points, 2.3 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game last season for the Jazz. Burke played in 64 games last season, but started none. Burke was once a lottery pick, but seemingly never found his feet with the Jazz. He managed to contribute solid numbers as a reserve last season, but a change of scenery certainly looks necessary.
Burke has three seasons of NBA experience, and is heading into his fourth season in the association. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in the 2013-14 season.
ESPN‘s Marc Stein reported on June 29th that the Jazz had placed Burke on the trade block, after the team acquired point guard George Hill from the Indiana Pacers. So with Hill on the roster and the return of guard Dante Exum on the horizon, Burke’s days in Utah were numbered, to say the least.
Burke will likely become John Wall‘s backup in Washington, so Burke will likely still be a bench player. But with Wall’s injury history, Burke could become a valuable backup option. Having a good backup point guard in the modern NBA is becoming more and more vital, which bodes well for Burke’s future in the league.
Burke is a rather inexpensive option for the Wizards, as he will earn just $3.3 million next season. With all of the money being thrown around in free agency, Burke looks like a sensible pickup by the Wizards. This is especially true, considering that Wizards reserve guard Ramon Sessions is an unrestricted free agent this summer and is expected to move on for more money. Burke could be a valuable under-the-radar pickup for new head coach Scott Brooks.
Burke was selected ninth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2013 NBA Draft, only to be traded to the Jazz on draft day. He played for the Michigan Wolverines in college.
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