Shabazz Napier (PG, BRK) - Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add In 14-Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 6% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Shabazz Napier is still just 27 years old, and in his fifth NBA season, he has already played for four franchises (Miami, Orlando, Portland, and Brooklyn). 33 games into the 2018-2019 campaign, Napier has averaged just 16.9 minutes per contest, and has only found himself inserted into the starting lineup once. In that amount of floor time, he has put up 1.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and a career-high 8.9 points per game while still shooting smoothly beyond the arc at 37% on his 3.3 nightly attempts. Not only that, but the injury-riddled Nets have called on Napier for a big uptick in playing time lately, and he has responded with big results. In the seven games since Brooklyn's December 29th match-up with Milwaukee, Napier has averaged an eye-opening 15.4 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per outing.

The former Connecticut Husky is still considerably behind D'Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie in the Brooklyn Nets' backcourt, and there is still a slew of players awaiting returns such as Caris Levert, Allen Crabbe, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Napier is never exactly the most efficient guard on the floor, but when on the court, he always takes a hands-on approach to each possession and makes solid use of high-volume minutes (even if he is rarely a member of the starting five). Though the frequency with which he sees the floor may cool down in the next week or so, Shabazz Napier is shooting at a more-than accurate enough clip from long-range and is an active enough part of the offense to produce solid totals for points and assists moving forward (when deployed) and has considerable value in deeper leagues.