Name: Shane Larkin
Height/weight (per Basketball-Reference.com): 5-11, 176 pounds
Career stats: 124 G, .420 FG%/.305 3FG%/.748 FT%, 4.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 99 offensive rating, 110 defensive rating
2014-15 stats: 76 G, 24.5 MPG, .433 FG%/.302 3FG%/.782 FT%, 6.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 3.0 APG, 102 o-rating, 110 d-rating
How he was acquired: Signed to a multi-year contract by the Nets on July 9, 2015
2014-15 season recap: After spending his rookie season with the Mavericks, Larkin was shipped to the Knicks in the same deal as Wayne Ellington. In his second NBA year, Larkin — the son of MLB Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin — saw a huge uptick in minutes in New York, as he played 76 games for the hapless Knicks and 24.5 minutes per contest to boot. He shot the ball decently well (over 43 percent from the field) and proved to be a decent option at the point, with a nearly 3-1 assist-turnover ratio. Still, Knicks executive Phil Jackson publicly criticized Larkin on multiple occasions for his perceived lack of development and inability to run the complicated Triangle offense.
Expected role: Another low-risk, medium-reward guy who the Nets brought in to duke it out for the backup point guard spot, Larkin is more than capable of controlling this low-octane Brooklyn offense and is especially strong in the pick-and-roll game, which should be featured heavily by Lionel Hollins this season. If last night’s preseason opener was an indication of anything, Larkin may already by the front-runner to backup Jarrett Jack.
Best-case scenario: Larkin becomes the full-time backup to Jack at the 1 and is able to play relatively turnover-free basketball while contributing five to six points a night. He’s still only 23, so he has a lot of room to grow as a player, so even that might be an underestimate.
Worst-case scenario: If Larkin has a bad preseason and loses out to Donald Sloan or even Ryan Boatright, then so be it. The Nets didn’t commit much to him, so it would just be a wasted roster spot, it anything.
General thoughts: Shane Larkin is not a difference-maker or a guy defenses should be worried about, but he’s a decent reserve option for a team without a ton of talent at the point guard position.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
