NBA Draft Rumors: Thunder, Bulls and Celtics eyeing Shabazz Napier
By Josh Hill
The NBA Draft is just around the corner and it seems that interest in UConn Huskies guard Shabazz Napier is rising, even if his stock necessarily isn’t. While he’s still projected to be picked in the mid-to-late 20s, Napier is drawing interest from teams across the board which really makes his status uncertain heading into the draft.
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No matter who is talking about him, it’s become abundantly clear that Napier will be a first-round pick and he’ll only slip into the second round if something major ends up happening. That’s not expected to be the case though and Napier could very likely go higher than the late 20s.
As Chad Ford from ESPN.com points out, the Bulls, Thunder and Celtics are all among the teams interested in drafting Shabazz Napier with the Suns and Grizzlies also on the list of teams to have worked the UConn guard out.
All of the teams make sense for Napier but for different reasons. The Bulls and Thunder need solid backup point guards to put behind thier stars and to add depth to the bench. The Suns are filthy rich with draft picks and have the luxury of taking Napier simply because they can while the Celtics and Grizzlies could take Napier to groom him as their point guard of the future.
Either way, it’s looking like Napier’s stock will shoot up in the days before the draft and while he won’t sniff the lottery, we could see him leap out of the 20s and to a team int he late-teens come June 26th.