If Trey Burke's dad got his wish, his son would be on his way out of Philadelphia. Alfonso Clarke Burke II, better known as Benjie Burke, wrote on Instagram Monday that he wanted his son to be traded to a team where he would get more playing time.
Via Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer:
The post read: “Man get my dude off this team. Killing him. They will not get out the east without bench scoring. Free TB23 please.”
An Instagram account belonging to Sixers reserve center Kyle O'Quinn liked the message before it was deleted. O'Quinn also played with Burke on the 2017-2018 New York Knicks.
Burke responded to his father's social media activity: “Earlier today, I was made away of my dad's social media post. While I appreciate the support he's shown throughout my career, his comments don't reflect how I feel and we've addressed that. My focus is doing whatever I can to help this team win a championship. I appreciate the support this organization, the fans and city of Philadelphia have shown me.”
The Sixers signed Burke to come in off the bench and fill a back-up point guard role, much like T.J. McConnell, who left Philly for the Indiana Pacers. However, he has played in only 10 of the team's 28 games. He's averaging 6.9 points, 3.1 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game.
Burke played six minutes and 27 seconds of mop-up duty in the Sixers' 109-89 loss in Brooklyn on Sunday night. His previous appearance was his best of the season. Burke scored a season-high 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting while playing a season-best 26 minutes and 35 seconds in a 141-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, this was on December 7, and Burke did not play in the four games between those matchups.
Now that December 15 is in the rear view mirror, Burke is eligible to be traded. He signed a one year $2 million contract with the Sixers this past offseason. Last season he was traded from the Knicks to the Dallas Mavericks in the Kristaps Porzingis trade.
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