2021 NBA Draft profile: Tennessee guard Jaden Springer

What are Jaden Springer’s areas for improvement?

Not everything is dandy with Springer as a prospect, as is the case with any draft hopeful. He still needs to clean up a lot of his work on the offensive end if he wants to be a starting-caliber guard at the next level.

His ball-handling was sloppy at Tennessee which led to turnovers and tough situations far too often. It also hindered his ability to create shots for himself when defenders challenged him away from the basket. Springer needs to work on his handling in order to be the primary ball-handler in the NBA but he would still have a future as an off-ball scorer in my opinion.

Part of his offensive struggles come with his lack of creativity. Not being capable of creating shots for himself or others will severely limit his impact on the offensive end.

Lastly, turnovers were a major problem when Springer was forced into pressure situations. Defenses were able to hound him and force key mistakes throughout his season at Tennessee. He added just 2.9 assists per game but gave the ball away 2.4 times. That rate is not what you want from a starting point guard.

Finding a distinct role for Springer may be challenging as he develops his skill set. Can the Pacers afford to take that risk with yet another first-round pick?