Utah Jazz: Grading the Shelvin Mack Trade
By Trent Arnold
The Utah Jazz have acquired a point guard, but it’s not Ty Lawson or Jeff Teague. How does the acquisition of Shelvin Mack stack up?
The Utah Jazz have acquired point guard Shelvin Mack from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for a second round pick. The deal was first reported by The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
This move doesn’t quite have the name power that a Ty Lawson or Jeff Teague trade would have, but the cost is low, and it provides the Jazz with some much-needed depth at the point guard position.
Since Dante Exum went down with an ACL injury, the Jazz have been looking for a replacement, and while this move won’t fix their point guard issues, it does help.
In my opinion, this move for the Jazz is more about what they didn’t do, as Shelvin Mack seems to have been relatively low on their list of trade deadline targets (understandably). In the lead up to the deadline, there were rumors that the Jazz were interested in Jeff Teague, which is a trade that would have made a lot of sense for them. Currently, they are playing the rookie, Raul Neto as their starting point guard and an upgrade at the position would have helped propel them in their push for the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Atlanta Hawks pulled the plug on any deals involving their core, and it is believed that both Jeff Teague and Al Horford will stay put for now.
Sources: Atlanta's expressing its intentions to rivals that Hawks plan to keep team intact at deadline, holding onto Horford and key guards.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 18, 2016
There was also plenty of discussion between the Jazz and the Houston Rockets to send Ty Lawson to Utah in exchange for Trey Burke, but this trade also never eventuated, presumably because the Jazz weren’t willing to take the risk. Whether or not you think this was a good deal to avoid is your opinion, but it is evident that the addition of Mack is a much more low-risk low reward move.
If Jazz have indeed walked away for good from the Ty Lawson gamble, I'm told one "safer" PG option they've looked at is Hawks' Shelvin Mack
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 18, 2016
Last season in Denver, Lawson averaged 15.2 points and 9.6 assists, and while those numbers have dropped to 6.3 points and 3.6 assists in a backup role for the Rockets this season, they are still better than Macks 3.9 points and 1.6 assists. However, Shelvin Mack has been buried on the bench in Atlanta, and his ability to play at either guard position and thrive off the ball should be valuable to a team that has Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood to create. Mack also has ties to Gordon Hayward from Butler, which should help his transition into the rotation.
Mack isn’t the point guard acquisition that many Jazz fans would have been hoping for, but he does bring defensive size to the point guard position that they don’t have in Neto or Burke. He also makes for an excellent fit in their system next to Hood and Hayward, who handle a lot of playmaking from the wing.
Related Story: 2016 NBA Trade Deadline Live Tracker
To acquire Mack, the Jazz have only given up one of their second-round picks, and considering they have multiple second-rounders it seems like a fair cost, maybe even on the low side depending which second-rounder it is. With this trade, the Jazz get some immediate help (albeit relatively minimal), and they don’t sacrifice their future going forward.