NBA Free Agency: Shane Larkin’s unique NBA tour continues

A couple more seasons at this pace and it might be the end of the road for Shane Larkin. Knowing this, he’s likely motivated to improve.

Strengths:

From a skill standpoint, Larkin has everything a team would want in a point guard. He’s quick, handles the ball well and runs the pick-and-roll effectively. Larkin can score when given a chance and has the potential to run an offense if given the reigns.

Even with those intangibles, Larkin hasn’t been able to piece a decent season together. He averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 assists over 78 games in his best season two years ago with the Nets. Those numbers decreased to 4.3 points and 1.8 assists through 54 games in Boston.

Two contributing factors to those below-average numbers is stability and playing time. Larkin has never played for the same team for more than a year. And on top of constant change, he’s only started 41 games throughout his four-year career. Respect is understandably earned, not given. But the sample size is small.

Weaknesses:

Perhaps the biggest thing holding Larkin back is his size. At 5’11” Larkin is dwarfed by many guards in the NBA. So finishing around the rim and playing defense is a challenge for him.

His size would be less of an issue if he were a better shooter, but his field goal percentage hovers around average or below. At his best, he was a 43 percent shooter from the field, but regressed to 38 percent with the Celtics.

Those stats, of course, take a back seat to his injuries and unknowns. Whether or not he is worth the risk will be up to his salary demands.