Minnesota Timberwolves: Ranking the 2019-20 newcomers

3. Shabazz Napier, PG

After resurrecting his career with the culturally-proven Portland Trail Blazers, Shabazz Napier had a somewhat underwhelming year with the Brooklyn Nets, often taking a backseat to the barracks of ballhandlers the Nets had in 2018-19.

He played in just 56 games, averaging 17.6 minutes per contest, and his 3-point shooting dropped from 37.6 percent in 2017-18 to 33.3 percent.

Undersized and not a real threat to finish at the rim — his best shooting season around the basket is akin to Tyus Jones’ career average — Napier will need to rediscover his shooting stroke if he wants to find success with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Napier is unlikely to start many games with Jeff Teague entrenched at point guard and with so many wings who can handle the ball on the Wolves’ roster, Napier will likely get time off the bench both on and off ball.

He is rated here because he is the only point guard on the roster other than Teague. For that reason alone he’ll see a decent amount of playing time. Napier is no slouch, though.

He’s proven himself to be an NBA player and last year showed a surprising knack for pestering dribblers on the defensive end of the ball.

There is almost no downside to this acquisition. With KAT as the Wolves’ offensive anchor and Jarrett Culver poised to get some ballhandling duties, Minnesota simply needs another steady hand in the backcourt. Napier provides that, and cheaply too.