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Portland Trail Blazers trade for Shabazz Napier from Orlando Magic

The Trail Blazers will acquire guard Shabazz Napier for cash in a trade with the Magic.

By Sam Tongue
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to trade for Shabazz Napier from the Orlando Magic for cash considerations, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinal.

Napier, 24, is a 6'1" point guard, with two years of experience in Miami and Orlando. He was drafted 24th overall in 2014.

Last year in Orlando, Napier averaged four points and two assists per game in 11 minutes. He shot 34% from the field, including 33% from three-point range.

This trade comes on the heels of news Tuesday that former Trail Blazer Gerald Henderson signed a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Napier won two national championships at the University of Connecticut in 2011 and 2014. His run in 2014 was most notable, when Napier won the Bob Cousy award as the nation's top point guard as well as the NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player.

His run garnered a strong response from many NBA players, including LeBron James and teammate to-be, CJ McCollum.

Napier also was the subject of some controversy within the NCAA with comments he made after UCONN's National Championship victory. After the game, Napier mentioned how he didn't always have money to eat while on scholarship at the school.

We do have hungry nights that we don't have enough money to get food in. Sometimes money is needed. I don't think you should stretch it out to hundreds of thousands of dollars for playing, because a lot of times guys don't know how to handle themselves with money. I feel like a student athlete. Sometimes, there's hungry nights where I'm not able to eat, but I still gotta play up to my capabilities.

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