Per Dan Woike of the OC Register, the Clippers turned down a deal for Shabazz Napier, which would’ve sent C.J. Wilcox to the Orlando Magic.
In the wake of the trade deadline, it was learned the Clippers turned down a deal for Chicago Bulls wing Tony Snell, a deal that would’ve sent 2014 first-round pick C.J. Wilcox East. As fellow Clipperholics writer Tom West noted in his writeup on the rumored deal, the Clippers made the right call.
In the same post that brought the Wilcox-Snell trade talks from the shadows, Dan Woike of the OC Register also mentions another trade that fell apart at the deadline involving the University of Washington shooting guard: one for Orlando Magic point guard Shabazz Napier, whom you either know because of his NCAA tournament heroics as a member of UCONN or because of LeBron James‘ declaration of Napier being the best point guard in the 2014 draft, which, well, yeah.
"Wilcox’s name was involved in multiple potential trades before the deadline. Orlando called and discussed a Wilcox swap, offering former NCAA hero Shabazz Napier."
Here is where the Napier talks make sense on paper for the Clippers: Chris Paul is being taxed in Austin Rivers‘ absence, and it feels there’s only so much Pablo Prigioni can do in the backup point guard spot, regardless of the redeeming qualities that make him a likable character. But the reality? Napier hasn’t proven much in one-and-a-half seasons in the NBA, one with the Miami Heat and the half with the Magic.
In 95 games, the former 24th overall pick is averaging 4.6 points on 36% shooting and 2.3 assists per game. That type of production could be found from a veteran free agent on a 10-day deal, having not lost out on an asset to acquire, or if Rivers has the faith to entrust a non-NBA guy in the role of third-string point guard/second-string shooting guard, a D-League guy could do the same. (and while I’m hear, looking at the Orlando end of this, acquiring a shooter makes sense for this team).
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To briefly recap, that’s two deals involving Wilcox that Rivers backed out of, with two “ready now” players having been the bait. A man who’s done little good in his time as team president, Doc Rivers deserves a pat on the back for the restraint, as we all know the now matters far more for Doc than the future, with previous trades proof of that.
I’ll say this over and over again: there’s still no proof of Wilcox being a good NBA player, no matter how big of a fan I’ve become of his game through showings in the D-League. That alone is why it would’ve been no surprise for Rivers to give up on another young player in his tenure for a “proven guy” (this applies moreso to Snell than Napier). But until he proves he isn’t that on the Clippers, there’s no reason to give up on him. Those glimpses shown in the D-League, I’ve written about here and they’re comforting given the role he’d play on this Clippers team which is role player, spot-up shooter, the J.J. Redick for the bench.
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That opportunity may not come this year as Rivers is going all in with his guys to see if the Clippers can break through the second round and give themselves a chance to shoot for the NBA Finals against one of the Spurs or Warriors in the conference finals. But next year, when Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, and Wesley Johnson may be elsewhere and the Clippers’ lone option of adding a player into the backup wing spot for a low price? That could be Wilcox, and that could be one of Rivers’ few personnel victories when he’s inevitably fire this summer.