Philadelphia 76ers: Can Trey Burke be a long-term piece?

The Philadelphia 76ers may have found their long-term solution at the backup point guard position in journeyman Trey Burke.

After four seasons of T.J. McConnell being the primary backup point guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, the franchise will begin a new era at the reserve playmaking spot this upcoming season. The team will have three players vying for the role as Ben Simmons backup in Trey Burke, Raul Neto and Shake Milton. Burke should get that role for this season as Christopher Kline of The Sixer Sense wrote, but can Burke become a mainstay at that role for seasons to come?

There’s several factors to consider when looking at Burke’s fit on the roster beyond this season. The first being the prospects Neto and Milton moving beyond this upcoming season? Both have financial advantages over Burke.

Burke is on a partially guaranteed one-year contract, versus Milton who has a four-year deal. Despite Milton being a young prospect, Milton doesn’t appear to be the long-term answer at the point guard. This is due to the fact that he doesn’t look much like a point guard. Unless Milton shows major development this season, keeping a veteran playmaker on the roster would be wise for the Sixers and Burke could be that player.

More from The Sixer Sense

Neto is on a one-year deal like Burke, but unlike Burke’s contract, Neto’s is fully guaranteed. The team has more guaranteed money invested in Neto, so he already has a leg-up on Burke when it comes to priority. If Neto gets the backup gig this season, this article has no merit, however I agree with Kline’s piece that Burke should be the primary reserve for Simmons this season. If that does happen, Burke has the chance to prove he’s worth a long-term investment.

Burke is the only player on Philly’s bench that is capable of creating his own offense off the dribble. That is a unique skill set that only handful reserve point guards can do at an efficient level. There were only six backup point guards that averaged double-digits last year.

Burke was fifth in scoring among backup point guards last season and only Jordan Clarkson, Spencer Dinwiddie, Dennis Schroder and Fred VanVleet averaged more points than Burke. Out of those four only Clarkson and Dinwiddie had a higher field goal percentage than Burke and he had the second highest 3-point percent only behind VanVleet.

Burke has the scoring ability to be a key contributor to the bench for seasons to come, but the biggest barrier that could stop the Sixers from keeping Burke for the long-term is money. The 76ers have locked big money into their core of Simmons, Joel Embiid, Al Horford and Tobias Harris. In doing this, it has given the team very little wiggle room in terms of signing players beyond this season.

In the event that Burke does perform very well for Philly during the regular and postseason, it could earn him a very nice pay-day with decent lengthen contract. Now the Sixers could probably pay him around the minimum for a couple of seasons, but other teams could offer more. It comes down to if Burke stays to compete for a championship or if he goes to a team that can pay him the most. That’s a decision that probably won’t be made this offseason.

Burke has shown that he has the skill set to be Simmons backup for the next couple of seasons, but the question is can the Philadelphia 76ers afford to keep him past this upcoming year? He could decide to re-sign with the Sixers next summer for less or go to a team that can pay him more. Ultimately, it’s up to him.