Trey Burke admits he’s old by current Knicks standards, but not by his own. In f🐭act, the 26-year-old point guard said he has not yet hit his prime.
After not playing in four straight games and eight of the past 13, Burke only got on the Barclays Center court Friday against the Nets because starter Emmanuel Mudiay is out two to threeꦺ weeks with a strained shoulder.
The Knicks’ most accomplished point gu༒ard, Burke le🍬d the team in its loss to the Nets with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting and added five assists in 33 minutes off the bench.
In search of second-round picks, the Knicks will explore trading Burke at the Feb. 7 deadline, and he said he’s fine whether he stays or goes. This latest showca💝se for Burke, a free agent, is bound to turn NBA heads.
The Lakers are without injured point guard 🔯Lonzo Ball, the Warriors ༺are thin at backup point guard with Quinn Cook and the Nets just lost Spencer Dinwiddie for weeks to thumb surgery.
🦂“I have a lot of basketball left in me,’’ Burke told The Post. “I take care of my body. Being 26, honestly, I’m not even in my prime yet. I do🍷n’t feel I have a lot of mileage on my body, only played two years of college. That’s one of the frustrating things, too.’’
It’s frustrating because players 26 and older are no longer embraced at 2 Penn Plaza. Just ask Enes Kanter🌼 and Burke’s Michigan buddy, Tim Hardaway Jr. — both 26 and on the trading block.
“It’s not that coach Fiz [David♎ Fizdale] thinks I’m old, but in this situation, I’m kind of put in that situation where I’m the older guy,’’ said Burke, who was a lottery pick of the Jazz in 2013. “We have guys 19, 20 years old, 22, 23. Me being 26, I think sometimes I do forge꧅t that’s not old.
“Everyone is attracted to that fresh young 18-, 19-year-old. I’m fine. I was there once, too. It’s so💎mething I have to try to erase out of my mജind and know who I am. … As a player, I know I’m still young and have a lot of basketball left in me.’’
Burke began the season as starter, but Fizdale quickly went to an extreme youth movemenᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚt. Frank Ntilikina, 20, will start at point guard until Mudiay heals. Burke sprained his MCL on Dec. 1, missed five games and essentially has been out of the rotation since.
“It is hard,’’ Burk🎉e said. “We’re human. You want to play and you find yourself outside th🏅e lineup, you can do two things. You can mope and pout about it. Or you try to figure out getting better for when you’re opportunity come back around.
“You start [trade] scenarios that’s not actually going on. It’s not the present, not where I’m at. Everyone I’ve spoken to knows I want to b𒆙e a New York Knick. But it’s the nature of the business if it doesn’t work out. I’m not saying it won’t work out here, but I think the last couple of weeks it has been difficult putting things in perspective. Am I going to be here in the long-term picture? But I snap out of it because it’s out of my control.’’
One NBA source told The Post that Burke would prefer to be dealt, but the point guard insisted 😼he still thinks he can make himself part of the Knicks’ future if he shows a more all-around game. The Knicks’ concern is with Burke’s defense, partly because of his size (6-foot-1, 175 pounds).
“It’s not something I’m thinking about a⭕ lot,” Burke said. “As a basketball player, you look at other scenarios. How I’d fit in other scenarios, in that system, in that situation. But I think the direction of this organization, I want to be part of that. I know that there’s still a lot I have to prove. That’s fine with me. I knew coming into the organization, taking the G-League route [last season] inst🦋ead of going to [Oklahoma City], it wasn’t going to be easy.”