Utah Jazz-NY Knicks key matchup: Trey Burke vs hostile Jazz fans

Former Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke returns to the “scene of the crime” when his New York Knicks take on the team that drafted him.

When the Utah Jazz take the court at Vivint Arena on Friday, they’ll be doing so against a couple of familiar faces. The New York Knicks are in town, and with them come former Jazzmen Enes Kanter and Trey Burke.

Once public enemy No. 1 after forcing his way out of town, some of Kanter’s bad mojo has probably dissipated at this point. Burke, however, returns to Salt Lake City with his villain status fully intact.

Back in 2013, the team drafted him No. 9 overall and quickly handed him the reins as starting point guard. Less than five years later, he was in the G-League and packing a lengthy record of slamming his former squad.

In speaking with CBS Sports’ James Herbert, Burke took some responsibility recently for the way his Jazz career played out. That said, he also blamed his relationship with Jazz fans for what went down.

From CBS Sports —

"“When you have the friction between me and the fans, I think that’s really what it was. I blame it on myself now. I can look back and I can say that it was me rather than them because I changed the way I played for the way they wanted me to play. That should never happen.”"

Burke is trying to own his part in the breakdown here, which is a good thing. He’s clearly matured and doing what he can to make his second shot at the league count. The crowd at the Viv probably won’t see it that way, though.

One has to wonder whether that will fuel Utah’s former floor general or impact him in the same way it did when he was with the team.

For his part, Kanter has acquitted himself well in his returns to Jazzland. Last season, he put up 16.5 points per game at his former home arena. Other former Jazz pariahs have been less successful when returning to the scene of the crime. C.J. Miles, for example, seems to have some kind of Vivint Arena curse.

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Ultimately, the big question may be whether or not Burke even sees the floor. Since joining the Knicks earlier this month, he’s appeared in just one game — an eight-minute stint against the Brooklyn Nets. Still, the Knicks are seemingly intrigued by his offensive potential after he lit up the G-League.

In 26 games with the Westchester Knicks, he put up 26.6 points, 5.3 assists and nearly two steals per contest.

In any case, the Jazz crowd promises to be a vocal one in the prodigal son’s return. Time heals all wounds, but Burke’s perceived misdeeds are pretty fresh despite his recent change of heart.

And there’s no drama like fresh drama.

The Knicks and the Jazz will do at 8:30 p.m. MT on Friday night.

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