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As the Jazz prepared for a stretch drive they hope will end in the Western Conference playoffs, management decided Utah needed to get bigger and deeper at point guard.

The acquisition of Shelvin Mack accomplished that goal.

On Thursday, Utah sent a second-round draft pick to Atlanta for Mack, a fifth-year pro from Butler, where he was a teammate of the Jazz's Gordon Hayward.

According to coach Quin Snyder, Utah needed a third point guard to complete a trio that also includes rookie Raul Neto and 6-footer Trey Burke. The Jazz lost Dante Exum before the season because of a knee injury.

Utah's depth issue at point guard "bit us a little bit" before the All-Star break, when Burke missed three games because of illness.

"Sometimes we forget that, since Dante's injury, we've been playing with two point guards," Snyder said.

Mack stands 6-foot-3. He weighs 203 pounds. He averaged 3.9 points and 1.6 assists in Atlanta this season but played only 7.5 minutes in 24 games.

"He's a guy with more size" than Neto and Burke, Snyder said. "… There have been some games where the matchups for us — whether it's Deron Williams or Jrue Holiday or [Russell] Westbrook — have been difficult. And he's a little different than our other guys."

Snyder knows Mack better than anyone in the Jazz organization. He was an assistant in Atlanta from 2013-14 and, presumably, favored the trade.

"There is a familiarity I have with Shelvin," Snyder said. "That's a positive. There is a lot of continuity there. But more than anything, not to diminish the trade or any part of it, we needed to have some depth at that position.

"[I] don't want to do a disservice to Trey or Raul, but I don't know if there's an NBA team that's been through the entire year with just two point guards. So from that standpoint, it makes a lot of sense."

Along with Hayward, Mack played for Celtic coach Brad Stevens at Butler. The Bulldogs made consecutive trips to the NCAA championship game in 2010 and 2011.

"Shelvin, first and foremost, is a great worker and a great guy," Stevens said prior to Friday night's Jazz-Celtic game. "I've always had a great fondness for him. He is a self-made player. He really cares about people. He is a great teammate. My kids are here and he came by and saw them today. I think that says [a lot] about him. He will do really well. … He is a good player and even a better person."

Mack attended the Utah-Boston game, but did not play or address the media.

Email: luhm@sltrib.com Twitter: @sluhm —

Tracking Mack

O The Jazz acquired point guard Shelvin Mack from Atlanta on Thursday.

• According to coach Quin Snyder, Mack improves Utah's size and depth at the position.

• Mack attended Friday night's Jazz-Celtics game but he did not play.