[GriffGCParticipant]

When Kemba Walker was taken 9th overall two years ago I was surprised and surely thought MJ’s Bobcat’s had made another mistake. I was wrong. Kemba’s averaging 18 points and 6 assists on 42% shooting. Though the Cats suck, Kemba is certainly a bright spot and looks to be a top 10-15 PG in the league going forward.

My question is whether Trey Burke can have similar success? He’s got greats stats, 19 and 7, is only a sophomore and is undoubtedly the go-to leader of a contendor in Michigan. They’ve got different games, but are both undersized, quick, crafty, naturally scorers, and have intangibles that are off the chart, so I feel a comparison is warrented. Not to mention Burke may lead Michigan to the ship (they’re my favorite at least). What do people think?

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

Me personally, I see more Kemba walkers game in him then I do CP3, the player he gets compared to most often perhaps.

[theprophetParticipant]

imo i have not seen a good trey burke comparison anywhere, and it’s probably because there really isn’t any player playing in the league today that screams trey burke to me. burke is no chris paul for sure. kemba may average what he does, but he’s more suited as a combo guard than a point guard. burke is more of a point guard. there may be some similarities to both player comparisons, but there are some major differences as well.

[JordanC20Participant]

Y’all probably won’t be happy with this comparison but to me he is a lot like Andrew Goudelock.

[BasketballJunkie224Participant]

i just think trey is a little more polished than kemba walker. kemba walker was exciting in college and is making a great career for himself in the pros but i truly believe that trey burke will be a better nba player. im not saying he will be like cp3 but i think he leans more that way rather than kemba walker

[HobbyOGParticipant]

I agree, Trey is more polished then Kemba. Kemba is more of a scorer and can not make his team better. Trey is a way better passer and gets his teammates involved.

[capshati23Participant]

kemba cant make his team better ? he carried uconn to a national championship what are you talking about ?

[BasketballJunkie224Participant]

i dont see anyone saying anything about kemba not making his team better but your right he carried uconn to the national championship but what does that have to do with trey burke comparisons?

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

I don’t understand why you think Kemba shooting 42% is something like a good thing. I can only think of three starting PGs who shoot worse than Kemba and that is Rubio, Greivis Vasquez, and Raymond Felton. Rubio obviously brings a level of passing that Kemba will never touch. Vasquez also racks up major assists (a good example of how a pass first PG can get assists even playing for a bad team). Raymond is probably around the level that Kemba can reach, which is basically a serviceable PG. And then you throw out the 6 assists per game, again it seems like you are presenting that as a good thing. I can’t think of any starting PGs who racks up less assists. And when I’m talking about starting PGs, I mean real starters that are part of a teams plan, not the guy who is stepping in when K. Irving is hurt. I’m not talking about Nate Robinson for the Bulls (though he both scores better than Kemba and dishes more assists on a per minute basis.)

Walker is doing better than I thought. He has progressed to the point where he is not liability on the court. I’d call him a legit starting PG. But he is still probably in contention for one of the worst starting PGs in the league. I seriously doubt he will ever score efficiently and I think even his biggest fans will concede that he isn’t going to become a good passer. Was he a bust at the point where he was picked? No. But he isn’t good.

[surveParticipant]

your breakdown is good and you make good points until you start saying Kemba isnt good. that simply is not true. Kemba is only in his 2nd year and I believe he will be better than everyone you named outside of Rubio. I really dont get the statement about progressing to not be a liability. He was getting double-teamed a lot last year because his speed is so elite. Kemba is a guy that will get better and better as he has better players around him. His FG% is not very good, but it will improve likewise.

If you are comparing Kemba and Burke….I think they will end up being the same level/caliber players. That is being very good backup PG’s for winning teams….or starting PG’s for losing ones.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

I think you are right that Kemba’s shooting percentage will increase, it often does for young guys. But keep in mind that Kemba’s percentages were mediocre in college (43% FG% and 33% from college three). So we’ve basically now got five years of stats on the guy playing high level ball and he hasn’t hit consistently. Again, I think he will get better, but how much is the question. He has a long way to go, I think, before he is a top 15 PG. But partly that is because we are living in the age of PGs

Rose
Rondo
Westbrook
Rubio
Irving
CP3
Curry
DWill

That is 8 guys who basically have max contracts, will almost certainly get them or in the case of Rondo kind of got shafted. They are also still all basically in their prime or young. Only Curry’s ankle injuries will keep him from getting a Max, but talent-wise he is way past Kemba.

Drue Holiday
D. Lillard
Ty Lawson
Steve Nash
Wall

Also, all guys who I’m sure you would agree are better than Kemba right now. And now I’m at 13.

Guys who you might disagree with me on.
K. Lowry
G. Dragic
J. Lin
Bledsoe

But to be honest, you’d be wrong if you think Kemba is better than any of these guys this year. That gives me 17 guys.

And finally these guys aren’t great but I would take them over Kemba this year as well.
R. Felton
J. Nelson
J. Calderon
Nate Robinson

Now I’m at 21.

And I’m pretty sure I left off some guys.

About the liability statement. If 20 to 25 teams start a player who is better than you, then you are a liability for your team. In the case of Kemba he wasn’t the worse liability. But most nights the other team started a better PG, so the position was a liability. Now at least Kemba is probably better than most team’s backup PG. But he is still worse than the starting PGs he faces most nights.

[stepback3Participant]

I agree with you.
You missed Tony Parker, Mike Conley. I personally would also rather have Jeff Teague, Jarrett Jack, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Jennings and Mo Williams

P.S it is Jrue Not Drue

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Is a PG

[Ghost01Participant]

When I watch Burke, maybe its just the way he moves but I honestly see a poor mans Derrick Rose. Obviously, he doesn’t have near the athletic tools Derrick has. And keep in mind, I’m a huge Rose fan. I think other than LBJ and Durant he is the most talented basketball player on the planet. I also don’t think Burke is all that great of an NBA prospect.

Some players though, you have to compare them to a worse version of someone else. A lot of people have hated the Oladipo comp. as a “poor man’s D Wade”. Obviously, there are numerous things Wade does from a ball handling and one on one scoring standpoint Oladipo can’t do. But they do have similarities. That’s what I see in Burke. He is by no means Rose. He won’t be nearly as good as him. But the way he moves, the way he drives and scores, while still getting his teammates involved remind me of Rose.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

@JordanC20

Andrew Goudelock??? Seriously?

[SDEParticipant]

i would love to see burke playing for the knicks or magic or utah. teams that need him

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Obviously, he’s not as quick or athletic, but Burke has a little Allen Iverson in his game. I wouldn’t be surprised if Iverson was one of his favorite players growing up.

[GriffGCParticipant]

Honestly this make favorite comparison so far. Obviously a bold one because AI was incredible but Burke’s got similar ability to dice up defenses. I think he could be a poor man’s AI. Maybe something like Ty Lawson.

[NorthBoundBallParticipant]

Dude got the heart of a Championship. IndianaBasketball got the comparison right with Allen Iverson. Burke comparison goes along the lines of a poor man Allen Iverson meet a poor man Chris Paul. Yes, he can score the ball, but he’s a balance team player as well. Finally got to see him play back to back and I have to say, the guy just moved up into my Top 5 based on his attributes and competitive style of play he brings to the game. Trey Burke is a straight baller.

[DubNationParticipant]

Here is a comparison that not one person has made.
The player I am talking about played 4 years in college. He is undersized. He was the leader and best player on his college team, scoring a lot but also keeping everyone else involved.
In the NBA, this player has been a solid starter for a number of years and has made one trip to the NBA Finals. He is still a solid scorer and has a knack for knocking down 3s (like Trey).
I am not saying that Trey can’t be better, but I think this is a valid comparison. Trey is more athletic and may have a little better ability to take contact and finish.
I am talking about Jameer Nelson. Nelson has had a steady starting role his whole career providing scoring and leadership, but has not been an outstanding player. I don’t necessarily see stardom in the future for Trey Burke, but I will not underestimate his potential. My safe comparison is Jameer Nelson.

[ThepessimestParticipant]

…..a pure PG. He is not a combo guard. He is a pure PG who can score. He understands tempo and the pace of the game as to where Kemba in college was effective based upon his scoring and often times played off the ball. So I do not honestly see the comparison between the two. Their strengths aren’t even the same to me as players. I don’t know what kind of pro Burke will be but he is surely a great college player at this point.

[Prio]

Trey Burke is PG like CP3, not a scorer like Kemba Walker… in my opinion, thereis 30% possibibily Burke to become like Kemba and 70% like Cp3 less talented

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

I just dont see Burke averaging 17,5,3 his second year in the NBA.

And to those who think Burke is a better passer than Kemba PLEASE go watch UCONN film from his first 2 years, Kemba penetrated and found his teammates like no other seriously.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

What did he find his teammates doing? It certainly wasn’t scoring since Kemba’s career assist average is a poor 4.1 assists per game.

[eleqtrique87Participant]

Just because a point guard can score doesn’t mean that he’s no pure point guard or a floor general. This guy has great court vision and playmaking ability combined with craftyness as a scorer. It’s not his fault that there are guys like Ricky Rubio and Kendall Marshall who people tend to call pure point guards because they can’t put the ball in the hole.

[GriffGCParticipant]

This preceded Trey Burke’s player comparison becoming Kemba Walker. Just sayin..

[draft2017Participant]

IMO Trey Burke plays like Sebastian Telfair remember bassy made the wrong decision by entering the NBA draft but if you watch Trey Burke his worst case would probably be Sebastian Telfair

[EPoltrack77Participant]

How much does he contribute? Is one of the greatest and has a good following thats for sure.

Hey if anyone likes playing around with sport picks check out http://onlinewithethan.com/nbapicks

[TheLastWordParticipant]

Hard to imagine a 6’0″ guard without great speed being a star. He is noticeably slower than Conley, Paul, Lawson, or Walker. It would be pretty much unprecedented. Jameer Nelson or DJ Augustin are realistic projections for Burke. He is shooting 32% in the tournament.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

I been said he reminds me of DJ Augustin….just not as quick, we will see how this turns out for Burke.

[Author]

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