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The Utah Jazz have two picks in the first round (14th, 21st), which means the organization has a great opportunity to immediately improve the team through the 2013 NBA Draft. Considering the Jazz currently has a ball handler predicament, one of those selections must be a point guard.
Utah could go ahead and select a point guard with the 14th overall pick. There is a good chance Michael Carter-Williams will be available. He is someone that could make a major difference for many years to come. However, it might be wiser for the Jazz to go with a forward earlier in the first round and draft a point guard with the 21st pick. The reason for this is because there are plenty of talented point guards who look like they could fall to Utah.
One point guard in particular that the Jazz should have their eyes on is Miami Hurricanes’ Shane Larkin. The name Larkin should sound familiar considering Shane’s father is baseball legend and Hall of Famer Barry Larkin.
The 5’11”, 171-pound guard does not have the size or strength to overpower opponents. Not to mention, his defense needs plenty of work. In a league that appears to be getting bigger at the point guard position, Utah certainly would be taking a bit of a gamble.
With that being said, Larkin is athletic, quick and a born leader. They do not come more competitive than he does, as he will stop at nothing to lead his team to victory. Larkin has mastered the pick and roll, a play that is the dominating force in the NBA today. Not to mention, he can setup teammates perfectly and is a legitimate threat from long range.
The 22-year-old averaged 14.5 points, 4.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 36.4 minutes per game in his sophomore season at Miami. He also managed to convert 47.9 percent of his 10.6 field goal attempts and 40.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
