I would like to thank the Utah Jazz, my teammates, and the fans that supported me thru my time with the organization! – Trey Burke
SALT LAKE CITY — The overloaded Utah Jazz point guard platoon became a bit less crowded on Sunday morning.
Three years after moving up in the draft to acquire his services, the Jazz traded Trey Burke to the Washington Wizards, sources confirmed to the Deseret News.
In 2013, the Jazz sent a pair of first-round picks (14th and 21st) to Minnesota in exchange for Burke, who was coming off of a stellar sophomore campaign as the NCAA player of the year for the championship runner-up Michigan Wolverines.
After three up and down seasons with the Jazz in which Burke went from being a starter to a non-factor on the bench, the 23-year-old was traded for a 2021 second-round pick of the Wizards.
Burke delivered a classy adieu to the team and fanbase a couple of hours after the news broke.
"I would like to thank the Utah Jazz, my teammates, and the fans that supported me thru my time with the organization!" Burke wrote on his Instagram account. "Through the highs and the adversities I faced it helped me grow as a player and more importantly a person/role model!"
Burke then admitted he's excited about the new chapter in his career, which will have him playing a backup role behind John Wall.
"I'm excited and looking forward to begin my time with the @washwizards and joining my new extended family!" he wrote. "Wassup DC."
The move will clear $3.4 million (Burke's 2016-17 salary) off of the Jazz books. With the additions of George Hill ($8 million) and Joe Johnson ($11 million), Utah has a roster salary of about $75 milllion. That leaves the Jazz about $10 million below the NBA's salary floor ($84.7 million) and $20 below the salary cap ($94.1 million).
The writing on the wall about Burke's future with the Jazz became pretty clear midway through the 2015-16 season when the organization made a trade for point guard Shelvin Mack.
Shortly after the former Butler player arrived on the scene in Utah — and played better than other Jazz point guards had been — Burke was relegated to the end of the bench behind Mack and rookie Raul Neto.
In late February, Burke didn't enter a game for the first time in his basketball life.
Though clearly a frustrating development for Burke, who struggled at times running the Jazz's offense and defending the position, he handled himself professionally with the team and media.
Burke called the demotion a "learning process" and vowed to continue to improve his game.
"Stay positive, go to practice, get extra work in, do what I’ve been doing, stay positive — that’s all I can do,” Burke said at the time. “I’ve been through a lot of adversity in my life. This is just a little bit of adversity. Just stay positive, really. … I’m growing every day on and off the court. I’ve just got to stay positive, man. That’s where I’m at.”
Burke's time in Utah got off to a rough start after he had a rough summer league outing in 2013 after being picked ninth overall. He then broke a finger in the preseason and didn't make his official NBA debut until Nov. 20.
Burke was the starter for the Jazz most of his rookie season, averaging 12.8 points and 5.7 assists in coach Ty Corbin's final year as head coach.
The Jazz then made a move the next offseason by drafting Australian playmaker Dante Exum with the fifth overall pick, showing that they had changed plans for Burke being the point guard of the future.
Burke averaged the same amount of points as a second-year player, but his shooting dipped across the board and he only averaged 4.7 assists. In his third season, he gave an occasional spark off the bench, averaging 10.6 points, before falling out of Jazz coach Quin Snyder's rotation.
The Jazz still have somewhat of a logjam at the point guard position, with the rehabbing Exum, Mack, Neto and veteran George Hill in the mix. Hill's trade from Indiana — he was dealt for the Jazz's late lottery pick — will be made official later this week by the NBA.
The Vertical first reported Burke's trade.
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