7) The Mack Attack Cometh; February 18, 2016
In a three-team trade, the Jazz acquired Shelvin Mack from the Atlanta Hawks. In turn, the Hawks traded Justin Holiday to the Chicago Bulls, who traded Kirk Hinrich to Atlanta. The Jazz sent a future second-round draft pick to the Chicago to complete the deal.
When the Jazz acquired Shelvin Mack at the trade deadline last year, I gave the team a B-grade for the move. My logic — the team added a legitimate third point guard and help for the playoff push at very little cost. Although the Jazz ultimately missed the playoffs by one game, my assessment proved sound.
Mack went on to start 27 of 28 games for the Jazz, averaging 12.7 points and 5.3 assists per game. If you can get that kind of production for the cost of a second-round pick, you’re doing pretty for yourself.
At this point, though, the honeymoon has been over for a while and it doesn’t look like Mack is long for Utah. He’s been a good backup at times, but he’s also been a source of angst for fans and currently finds himself out of Coach Quin Snyder’s rotation.
If he’s not the most-likely Jazzman to get moved by Thursday afternoon, he’s definitely up there.
Next: The Advent of Giri