The Miami Heat are aware that they must bring in some young talent to help fill roster holes after last season when the veterans showed their age. Every move this offseason will be geared towards pleasing the Heat's Big Three and hoping they stay put. The NBA Draft was the first step in that process and LeBron James likes what he saw.
The Miami Heat made a draft trade in the first round, trading their No. 26 pick and two second -round draft picks to the Charlotte Hornets to move up and select former Connecticut point guard Shabazz Napier. The four-year senior helped lead the Huskies to two NCAA titles in four years. He represents young scoring for the Heat, but more importantly he had James excited.
James took to Twitter on Thursday night to comment on the Miami Heat's move. The forward tweeted out, "My favorite player in the draft! #Napier." With James testing the free agent market, is drafting Napier the first step in getting him to re-sign with Miami? Napier certainly hopes so.
"I would hope so," Napier said, via ESPN.com. "He's one of the best players in the world. So if me going there helps him come back, it just betters our chances of being a complete team."
Team president Pat Riley took notice to the tweet, simply saying that he is not surprised James is such a fan of Napier. He praised the young point guard for being an effective shooter while also being dynamic enough from various spots on the court. He averaged 18 points per game his senior season while shooting 41 percent from the beyond the arc.
Napier comes at the right time for the Heat. Mario Chalmers is a free agent and no expected to return after his disappearing act in the NBA Finals. Napier could see himself getting inserted into the starting lineup. After getting passed by multiple teams, Napier says he is ready to prove people wrong.
"No, the chip never leaves my shoulder. It will never leave my shoulder," Napier said. "That's what makes me who I am. And I was saying that not to belittle any other point guards. There's a reason why they're here. But I was just saying that because that's who I am. I wouldn't be Shabazz Napier if I wouldn't have said that. I believe it, and I'm going to prove it."
The Heat still have several decisions to make. Of course the Big Three are priorities. Then comes Ray Allen who announced he plans on returning. The draft was just the start of a busy offseason for Riley.
