VIDEO: Shabazz Napier shares some of the lessons learned from his rookie season in Miami
HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — Shabazz Napier‘s time with the Miami Heat is up.
He’s headed to Orlando in exchange for a second round pick, as first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, ending his brief tenure with the Heat after just one season. A first round Draft pick in 2014, and the player LeBron James declared his favorite heading into that Draft, Napier will join a crowded point guard situation in Orlando.
Orlando already has a budding young talent in starter Elfrid Payton and a veteran backup in C.J. Watson. Napier averaged 5.8 points, 2.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds in just 19.8 minutes per game for the Heat, who have three point guards — Goran Dragic, Mario Chalmers and Tyler Johnson — remaining on their roster.
The Heat wills save money ($1.3 million salary for Napier) and give themselves some roster flexibility by making the move. The Magic, meanwhile, fill out their point guard rotation with yet another first round talent and a young player they can mold in whatever way coach Scott Skiles wants to in his first season on the job.
If I were the Heat I would have kept Napier and traded Chalmers.
Nappier was LeBron’s choice; both are gone now. Maybe we can move on. Heat are still a very talented team at the point guard position.
if they trade shabazz for norris cole
i predict, in 2 years, magic will have 3rd best backcourt in the league
I didn’t expect Napier to be traded to Orlando,Napier could be a future PG in Miami and can be as skilled as Wade in the future. So sad…
Not at all happy this kid has heart and brought energy whenever he played I don’t understand why they even bothered drafting him and then going him away makes no sense to me. Getting rid of Chalmers I get he fades when the game is on the line and was basically no where in the last series against San Antonio.
Napier,i thought,was a good PG. Now he’s going to a worse situation,but he’s a fighter and Skiles likes players like that. Yet,i see him traded again since Payton is the starter,but Napier is starter material too.
He is not starters material though! Nice 3rd PG to have, but a long way from starter!
I bet Shabazz Napier is not amused by this move a all. But it’s part of the NBA.