If the NBA taught Orlando's Shane Larkin one thing, it was to be ready to move.
Larkin, the former University of Miami point guard, was selected in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks in 2013. The Hawks dealt his draft rights to the Dallas Mavericks. Larkin played his rookie season there, then spent one year each with the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets.
Those travels were nothing compared to the leap that Larkin took last offseason, when he opted out of his contract but found no suitable NBA offers. Instead, Larkin signed with Spanish team Baskonia Vitoria.
"He's getting a chance to run a ball club and play," said Shane's father, National Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin. "That is the reason why he wanted to leave the NBA. He got a guaranteed contract, and to my surprise, he said, 'I'm going to forgo that money and go and play, because I want to play.' That's what I encouraged him to do."
Shane Larkin, 24, is averaging 14.9 points, 5.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game in 22 games, according to euroleague.net. Those numbers are significantly better than his production in the NBA: 5.8 points, 3.2 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game in 202 career games (39 starts).
Former NBA players Andrea Bargnani and Chase Budinger also play for Baskonia Vitoria. Bargnani, an Italian who was the first overall selection by the Toronto Raptors in 2006, was Larkin's teammate with the Knicks and Nets.
"(Shane's) Spanish is getting a little bit better, but they speak Bosque where he is right now," Barry Larkin said. "Bosque is a little different than, say, Spanish. He is enjoying it. The thing that he is enjoying is that he gets a chance to play every single day and to run a ball club.
"He's got that responsibility. That's what he had when he was down in Miami. That's what he's used to, and he wants to be on a winning ball club, so hopefully he will continue to do that _ be that in Spain or in the NBA."
