According to reports the Orlando Magic have acquired Miami Heat guard Shabazz Napier.
The news broke via Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, who tweeted the following on Sunday afternoon:
Orlando is nearing a deal to acquire Miami guard Shabazz Napier, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 26, 2015
Wojnarowski went on to confirm that Napier would be exchanged for a protected future second-round pick with a second tweet:
Orlando will acquire Miami's Shabazz Napier for a protected future second-round pick, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 26, 2015
Napier, who played his college ball in Connecticut, was selected 24th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets. Much to the delight of Lebron James, he was traded to the Miami Heat later on draft night.
Per basketball-reference, during his rookie campaign, Napier made 51 appearances (10 as a starter), averaging 5.1 PPG, 2.5 APG and 0.8 SPG in 19.8 MPG. He shot .382 from the field and .364 from deep.
He’ll be joining a young Orlando Magic team that already features Elfid Payton and Victor Oladipo in its backcourt.
Payton, who was selected 10th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers before being traded to Orlando on draft night in the same draft as Napier, served as starting point guard last year, averaging 8.9 PPG, 6.5 APG and 1.7 SPG while Victor Oladipo, selected 2nd overall in the 2013 draft, served as the team’s starting shooting guard, averaging 17.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 4.1 APG.
Quite how Napier will fit into Orlando’s rotation remains to be seen, but the twenty four year old will most likely play the majority of his minutes behind Payton and potentially even veteran guard C.J. Miles who the Magic acquired during free agency.
It’s no secret that Miami’s been shopping him for some time, due largely to the glut of guards currently on their roster.
The deal could free up more playing time for the likes of Tyler Johnson, who went undrafted in 2014, and Zoran Dragic, who are likely to serve as back ups for the recently re-signed Goran Dragic and maybe even Mario Chalmers, who himself has been the subject of trade talk recently, while Miami attempts to return to prominence in the Eastern Conference.
