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Charlotte Hornets should look at Shabazz Napier in free agency

By Jerry Stephens

CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 16: Shabazz Napier #6 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against the Charlotte Hornets on December 16, 2017 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 16: Shabazz Napier #6 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against the Charlotte Hornets on December 16, 2017 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Charlotte Hornets should be targeting Shabazz Napier in free agency as they look for a new backup point guard.

With NBA free agency set to begin on July 1st at midnight (players can’t officially sign until July 6th), all eyes will be on LeBron James but in terms of the Charlotte Hornets, all eyes will be on Mitch Kupchak. This will be his first free agency with the Queen City team and fans are expecting him to deliver. All signs are pointing to them targeting a backup point guard and one name that should be high on their list is Shabazz Napier.

The Hornets’ GM has already stated that the team needs to add another guard to the rotation. Head coach James Borrego recently added that the roster needs “Another ballhandler, primarily a backup point guard, someone with point guard experience behind Kemba. We like Devonte and he’s a part of our program. But adding another ballhandler is a priority right now.”

This leads me to believe that Charlotte will almost certainly target a veteran backup point guard with their cap space this summer. With only two point guard in Kemba Walker and Devonte’ Graham on the roster, it makes sense as to why they would want to add a third. Whether or not Graham is Kemba’s primary backup has yet to be made official but the rookie will compete for the role.

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The Hornets will have an $8.8 million mid-level exception this offseason which they can use to sign a player or players if they decide not to use all of it on one player.

The Hornets have been searching for a high-quality backup point guard since Jeremy Lin left after the 2015-16 season. Ramon Sessions and Michael Carter-Williams both didn’t meet expectations in each of the last two years.

The Portland Trail Blazers chose not to make a qualifying offer this summer to Napier which makes him an unrestricted free agent. It’s unclear what his value will be on the open market but Charlotte should have just enough cap space to sign him to an MLE deal.

Napier isn’t the biggest name on the free agent market but he is a player who could realistically be an option for Charlotte. The 26-year old averaged 8.7 points per game, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals this past campaign while shooting 42% from the field, 37.6% from deep and 84.1% from the free throw line.

While he isn’t a prolific scorer, he is a solid backup point guard. His ability to stretch the floor would be a welcome sight for the Hornets. At 6’1, he doesn’t have great size which could be a bit of a problem if Charlotte wants to play him alongside Malik Monk but Napier proved he could thrive in a smaller backcourt duo with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum while in Portland.

It’s worth noting that Kemba Walker and Napier were teammates at UCONN during the 2010-11 campaign when they won a National Championship.

Other free agent point guard for Charlotte to potentially target include Rajon Rondo, Elfrid Payton, Fred VanVleet (restricted), Isaiah Thomas, Dante Exum (restricted), and Derrick Rose.

Next: What if young players live up to their potential?

Even if the Charlotte Hornets don’t sign Shabazz or if they target another point guard, they should at the very least take a close look at Napier. If they can sign him to MLE deal for one, two or even three years, I think that would be a great move for Mitch Kupchak and company during free agency this summer.