Trail Blazers should retain Shabazz Napier for multiple years
By Dayton Brown
Portland’s backup point guard has made a name for himself in Rip City, and Blazers fans should hope he doesn’t go elsewhere in the offseason.
The Blazers find themselves in a tight fight against he New Orleans Pelicans. It’s the first round playoff series in the 2018 Western Conference NBA Playoffs.
This is a familiar position for the Blazers, as they’ve had the honor now for five consecutive seasons. Thanks to a “Big 3” of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic, the Blazers attained a top-three seed for the first time since 2000 as well.
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But it wasn’t just those three who kept Portland so successful. In fact, the supporting cast for the Blazers has been better and more important this season than in quite a long time.
Led by the improved play of Moe Harkless and the emergence of rookie Zach Collins, Portland has improved in many different areas of the floor compared to last season.
At the head of that group as well stands Shabazz Napier and Ed Davis. Davis will be profiled at the RCP soon, since he finds himself in a similar position as Napier.
Shabazz and the Blazers
Napier, a 26-year-old point guard, played in 53 games (including two starts) during the 2016-2017 season, his first with Portland. But it’s what he’s done this season that has garnered Napier massive attention from Blazers fans.
The majority of fans would love to see him continue to rock the Blazers’ pinwheel logo. Napier has become the bona fide back-up to All-NBA Lillard, with occasional flashy assists to go along with his smart play.
Napier’s improvement this season also bolsters his importance to how this young Blazers team has flourished in the tough Western Conference.
Is it that easy, or even mutual, for Napier to return, though?