Philadelphia 76ers: Alec Burks is heating up for the New York Knicks

When the Philadelphia 76ers traded three second-round picks to acquire Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson at the 2020 NBA Trade deadline, it felt like a last-ditch effort to right a wrong season.

In theory, the move made sense; Burks and Robinson initially signed one-year deals with the Golden State Warriors in the hopes of rehabbing their careers on a playoff-bound team, but after watching the team fall apart due to injury, they’d surely relish an opportunity to help bolster a team teetering on the edge of falling apart.

After turning in bounce-back seasons in expansive roles with the Warriors, surely the duo would come in, bolster the Sixers’ backcourt depth and provide the pop needed to get things back on track, right?

Yeah, not so much.

While Burks specifically contributed fairly well as a change of pace left-handed playmaker, averaging 12.2 points and 2.1 assists per game, it wasn’t enough to get Philly back on track. The Sixers washed out in four games versus the Boston Celtics in Orlando and watched their head coach finally get the ax after one of the weirdest head coaching tenures in NBA history.

And as for Burks? Well, he signed a one-year, $6 million contract with a New York Knicks team with a very uncertain future in the hopes of parlaying his 2019-20 success into an expansive role.

That decision, as it turns out, was spot on, as Burks has been putting in work as a sixth man for the favorite to face the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round.

Alec Burks could be a factor against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round.

More from Section 215

The New York Knicks very well might be the biggest success story of the 2020-21 NBA season.

Perennial losers who haven’t been relevant in the spring this decade, fans in Manhattan and beyond had reasons to be cautiously optimistic heading into one of the weirdest seasons in recent memory.

If the Knicks were ever going to break their playoff drought and finally deliver onto Cody his Christmas wish of a postseason berth, you just know it was going to happen in 2020-21.

Falling in line behind NBA lifer Tom Thibodeau in his debut season with the team, the Knicks have transformed into one of the most defensively fundamental teams in the NBA while simultaneously transforming Julius Randle from a Lakers cast off into a legitimate All-Star and Derrick Rose from a Pistons reserve into a legitimate contributor once more.

But lost in that shuffle, at least on the national stage, has been just how well Alec Burks has performed in a reserve role for the Knicks this season.

Though his playing time hasn’t been quite as consistent in recent weeks, as he spent a near-two-week stint on the Covid-list back in April, Burks has scored in double digits 17 times for the Knicks this season, including 10 games where he recorded 20 or more points.

And now, fully healthy, Burks is putting in work for the Knicks when his team needs him most.

Coming off the bench for the Knicks as he has nearly all season long, Burks delivered a serious pop for Thibodeau’s squad when he needed it most, delivering 27 points in 26 minutes of action as New Yorks’ high man on the game.

Was it enough to deliver Spike Lee his first playoff win since the year Oldboy came out? No. The Knicks’ regular season’s lack of scoring rolled over to the playoffs, and New York was unable to outscore an offensively potent Atlanta Hawks team, but without Burks, who knows if the game would have even been close in the waning seconds at the Garden.

Needless to say, if the Knicks are going to get things back on track and oust the Hawks for a one-way ticket to South Philly for Round 2 – basketball gods willing – they’ll need Burks to keep outperforming his meager financial compensation. And if that happens, expect Burks to get a raise this offseason, maybe even the sort of long-term deal he’s been looking for since leaving Utah in 2019.

With the versatility to play any position one through three at both ends of the court and a deceptive ability to impact the game as both an off-ball shooter and as a distributor, Burks is the sort of glue guy that every team in the NBA could use but are seldom willing to pay full price for. If he can continue to drop 20 with regularity as the Knicks’ scoring sixth man either paired up with Derrick Rose and Julius Randle or in place of them, expect the 29-year-old Colorado alum to finally earn the respect he deserves this offseason either with the Knicks or on the open market.

Next. Ben Simmons’ impact goes beyond just scoring. dark

On one hand, it’s always nice to see a former member of the Philadelphia 76ers continue to thrive once they leave our fair city. It’s happened with T.J. McConnell, Robert Covington, and even Alec Burks’ New York teammate Nerlens Noel. Then again, if the Sixers do have to face the Knicks in Round 2, Burks’ feel-good story will fall out of favor around these parts real quick. Then again, again, if the Knicks keep playing like they did in Game 1, it feels like a near-forgone conclusion that the Hawks will be headed to South Philly to face off against the Sixers at some point in the not too distant future, closing out Burks’ impressive postseason prematurely. Regardless, file this one under interesting facts that may or may not become relevant down the line.