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    Saturday, April 27, 2024

    Napier signs rookie deal with Heat for $1.2 million

    Shabazz Napier has signed his rookie deal with the Miami Heat.

    Napier's deal got finalized Friday, hours before Miami's final game of its summer league schedule in Las Vegas. The point guard will make about $1.2 million this season after being selected with the No. 24 overall pick in last month's draft.

    Napier, who led UConn to this past season's NCAA championship, becomes the 12th player either signed or committed to the Heat for next season.

    "I spent a great deal of time studying him in preparation for the draft and we liked his qualities: his toughness, his competitiveness, his ability to play bigger in bigger moments," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said earlier this week after watching Napier during the Las Vegas summer league.

    "He has a very good feel for the point guard position but can also play off the ball. He will be a shooter in this league."

    Earlier Friday, Miami completed the signing of forward Udonis Haslem to a two-year contract that will pay him about $5.6 million.

    His deal was worked out several days ago, and Haslem told the team he had no desire to leave his hometown, anyway.

    "Udonis Haslem has been a fixture in Miami over the last 11 years," Heat President Pat Riley said. "He's a team player, an encompassing all-purpose player that would play just about any position or role in order to win."

    So in the week that followed the departure of LeBron James back to Cleveland, the Heat have gone from two players on the roster to having a dozen.

    A formal announcement of an already-agreed-upon deal with reserve power forward Chris Andersen is expected imminently, and All-Star forward Chris Bosh may not be able to sign his new $118 million, five-year deal until he returns from an international vacation and completes a physical.

    - The Associated Press

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