So who drives the hype-train? Is it ESPN? Is it Yahoo? Is it Buster Keaton? So what if you have to be 90-years old or a film school grad to get that! I tend to think it’s a combination of all media outlets that all have similar, independent views. Before touching any research on the draft, I immediately slotted Trey Burke as my #1 rookie for the 2013-2014 fantasy season, and it’s looking more and more like that’s going to be the consensus opinion. Damn you, Keaton!
That said, I still think Burke is going to provide tremendous value to owners who spend a high pick on him. The price may become steeper and steeper to a point too high for even me, but looking at it right now, he’s a guy that would slot in with Kemba Walker and George Hill in that tier of PGs and be ranked in the 50s in our rankings. Hows that for some hype train?
Entering the draft thinking very few players would creep into the top 100, Burke’s selection by the Jazz immediately thrusts him into a starting role, and a role that currently has very little backup. Letting Mo Williams hitchhike was an easy decision, especially since it’s Mo-Mo’s thumb that got them into a lottery pick anyway! So that leaves a starting line-up of Burke, Alec Burks (Burke Burks! Reminds me of “Bootstraps’ bootstraps” – chuckle.) Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors (who I love, but more for the blocks) and Enes Kanter. Yikes.
So Hayward comes in as the best incumbent scorer, but offense on this team will be tough to come by. Well, not that tough as I think Burke steps into that leading scoring role while also facilitating the offense. A scorer both from beyond the arc (1.9 threes a game last year at Michigan) and slashing to the rim (3.4-4.3 FTA/FTM a game – 80%), Burke has the best chance to flourish transitioning to the pro game with an all-around offensive polish. Not to be confused with an offense Pole – “your American hot dogs are utter swill!” I have no idea how accurate that really sounds…
In a league orienting more-and-more to slashing point guards and spot up shooters around the arc, Burke will have an immediate impact in the fantasy game, kicking out tons of dimes to Hayward spotting up. It’s easy to mistakenly try and label a point guard from this class “the next Damian Lillard” and Burke isn’t quite at that level, but I think will be pretty damn close. The upside is there for Burke to approach the top-60 and may even push into the top-50 for me. I’ve got a lot of faith in the rook and love to be part of the long line of conductors on the hype train.
2013-14 Proj: 19.6 Pts/2.9 Rebs/7.8 Asts/1.7 Stls/0.3 Blks/6.2 FGM/1.8 3PTM/5.4 FTM
