Does Shabazz Napier Add Anything To Orlando Magic?
On Sunday, the Orlando Magic acquired point guard Shabazz Napier from the Miami Heat. Via Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com:
"“The Magic will send the Heat a heavily protected 2016 second-round pick in return. The deal is essentially a cash dump for the Heat.Offloading Napier into the Magic’s cap space could save the Heat about $4.5 million in salary and luxury taxes.”"
USA Today‘s Jeff Zillgitt adds:
That 2016 second-round pick the Magic will send to the Heat for Shabazz Napier is protected 31-55, per person with knowledge of the deal.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) July 26, 2015
In the NBA you can’t trade something for nothing, but a second-round pick protected 31-55 is basically the loophole used to get around that rule. One year after moving up in the draft to take Napier 24th overall in Round 1, Miami has dumped him for a Round 2 selection at least 30 picks lower that it may never even receive.
From a basketball perspective, clearly this does not look good for the Heat.
Blowing the Shabazz Napier pick won't make or break Miami. But trading away a first round pick for basically nothing definitely hurts.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) July 26, 2015
How does this trade suit the Magic?
During his rookie year, Napier averaged 5.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while playing 19.8 minutes per game. He only took the floor for 51 contests though, as his season was cut short due to sports hernia surgery in March.
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There’s no obvious role for Napier in Orlando. After finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year balloting, Elfrid Payton is clearly the starter at point guard. Earlier this month, the Magic signed veteran C.J. Watson to serve as Payton’s backup. And with Victor Oladipo entrenched in the backcourt as well, Napier may be relegated to garbage time.
However, this is a low-risk move for Orlando that could easily pay off in the long run. Napier just turned 24 years old and he’s still the guy who carried an overachieving UCONN squad to a national title less than 16 months ago. Napier’s NBA future has yet to be determined.
And considering the Heat drafted Napier to please LeBron James in the first place, it’s possible the Cleveland Cavaliers de facto general manager might be interested in his services:
Yes, I realize there is sarcasm in the above tweet, but with Orlando surrendering next to nothing to get Napier, it’s still reason enough to make the deal.
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