Utah Jazz Give One of the D-League's Favorite Sons an NBA Gig

The deadline for NBA playoff eligibility may have come and gone, but this season has shown that there's inherent value in short-term additions for short-term additions' sake. An extra player here or there can help buy some invaluable rest for a teammate, shift a particular lineup or help cover for injury.

And although he wouldn't be available for a potential playoff run, long-time D-Leaguer Blake Ahearn—who was called up by the Utah Jazz on Monday, per Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside—should do his new NBA team some good.

Sunday evening saw both Earl Watson and C.J. Miles go down with injuries, and although Ty Corbin still has Devin Harris and Jamaal Tinsley around to initiate his team's offense, Ahearn offers a precious third option—a necessity on any team, but even more valuable on a squad with such an inconsistent starter. Harris' play has been all over the place this season, and although Tinsley has done a credible job in limited minutes, having a ball-handler with a different stylistic bent is a nice luxury.

In Harris, the Jazz have their straight-line driver who is able to create by way of a first step and hesitation move alone. In Tinsley, Utah has an archetypal pass-first creator, who is good for a bit of scoring, but provides stability almost solely through playmaking.

And now, with Ahearn, Corbin can turn to a player who creates by way of his shooting—a legitimate spot-up and pull-up player who manufactures looks for teammates through simple manipulations of the defense.

Ahearn's unlikely to score all that much playing time, but he provides a specific skill and has the potential to serve in a unique capacity for a team that could honestly use his services.

Sometimes, the calculus is rather straightforward; Utah ranks 29th in the NBA in three-point percentage, and Ahearn has converted more than 40 percent of his shots from beyond the arc both this season and for his entire D-League career. He has the potential to play off the ball more effectively than Utah's other nominal point guards, and in a more general sense, he has a chance to balance out Utah's bench. Ahearn is not a better player than Harris or Tinsley, but he's different, and as a function of that, he could create a very different dynamic for a team so reliant on interior play. 

Ahearn deserves this shot, but in truth, his skill set may deserve a bit more. Corbin doesn't face any pressure to use Ahearn as anything more than an emergency stopgap, but he and his team may be best served by utilizing their best perimeter shooter in a more productive capacity.

The answer obviously isn't to throw Ahearn into the fire, but the collision of team-wide need and player-specific strength here is too obvious to ignore. Sometimes the most suitable course of action is painfully simple, and although a shooter of Ahearn's caliber wouldn't cure all that ails the Jazz, someone in his mold could bring some stability in spots for a crucial stretch run.