MIAMI – The Miami Heat acquired University of Connecticut point guard Shabazz Napier via a trade in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Miami traded its first-round pick, No. 26 overall, and two second-round picks to the Charlotte Hornets to move up two spots to grab Napier with the 24th selection Thursday night.
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The trade satisfies free agent-to-be LeBron James, who expressed his satisfaction via Twitter, saying Napier is his "favorite player in the draft."
"We are very fortunate to have drafted Shabazz and feel very excited about him and what he can bring," Heat President Pat Riley said in a statement.
Napier looks forward to sharing the court with the current team players.
"They'll put me in great situations and I'll put them in great situations," he said.
Napier appeared in a school-record 143 career games (98 starts) for the Huskies in leading his team to the 2014 national championship. He averaged 13.7 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.76 steals and 32.3 minutes while shooting 41.1 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from three-point range and 81.3 percent from the foul line. He totaled 1,959 points while dishing out 646 assists, becoming the only player in school history to total at least 1,500 points and 500 assists.