Sixers’ Trey Burke’s father says on Instagram he wants his son traded; Trey says comments ‘don’t reflect how I feel’
“While I appreciate the support he’s shown throughout my career,” Burke said, “his comments don’t reflect how I feel and we’ve addressed that.”
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Do the 76ers have a problem?
Trey Burke’s father, Alfonso Clarke Burke II, better known as Benjie Burke, stated on Instagram Monday a desire to have his son traded due to lack of playing time. An Instagram account that is identified as belonging to Sixers reserve center Kyle O’Quinn was among the hundreds of likes the message received before the post was deleted.
The post read: “Man get my dude off this team. Killing him. They will not get out the east without bench scoring. Free TB23 please.”
Trey Burke wears jersey number 23. Benjie Burke’s instagram account is private.
The team provided the following statement on behalf of Burke.
“Earlier today, I was made aware of my dad’s social media post,” the statement read. “While I appreciate the support he’s shown throughout my career, his comments don’t reflect how I feel and we’ve addressed that. My focus is doing whatever I can to help this team win a championship. I appreciate the support this organization, the fans and city of Philadelphia have shown me.”
A Sixers spokesman said this is a non-issue. He referred to Burke as a consummate professional and hard worker.
The team did not comment about an account that says it belongs to O’Quinn liking the comment.
The Sixers signed Burke this offseason to provide bench scoring. However, the reserve point guard has played in only 10 of the team’s 28 games. He’s averaging 6.9 points, 3.1 assists, 1.5 rebounds, and 15.8 minutes. He played 6:27 seconds of mop-up duty in the Sixers’ 109-89 setback in Brooklyn on Sunday night.
Burke scored a season-high 21 points, on 9-for-12 shooting while playing a season-best 26:35, in a 141-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 7. Burke did not play in the four games between those matchups.
This isn’t the first time that Benjie Burke reportedly commented on social media about Burke’s lack of playing time. He and his wife did so while Burke played for the Utah Jazz in 2015. At the time, their son told KSL.com he didn’t condone their actions.