Nassir Little (3 Viewers)

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Little has a lot of raw physical talent and he seems to be a good character guy. I think he'll respond to the leadership here. I just hope he gets the coaching he needs to improve his skills.
 
Scalma said:
So what’s the consensus on Little? I wouldn’t read much into summer league. It’s not structured basketball and he barely had the ball in his hands.

I think the assumption is he sits his rookie season but I think if he plays defense he could get on the court earlier than expected. Stotts usually gives his rookies a shot at some point, even if the leash is shortened. I think he fits well as a four in small ball lineups. He’s good on the boards, likes getting physical, is long, and has the athleticism that should give him an advantage over many others.

The biggest question with him will obviously be his shooting.
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I think he is at least a year away. Which is fine, I expect that from most draft picks these days.
We will only need him if there are injuries, in which case he needs to work hard on his 3 point shot. If he is left open he needs to be able to hit 1/3 of them. Becoming a decent 3&D off the bench is all we need him to focus on ....for now.
 
Scalma said:
So what’s the consensus on Little? I wouldn’t read much into summer league. It’s not structured basketball and he barely had the ball in his hands.

I think the assumption is he sits his rookie season but I think if he plays defense he could get on the court earlier than expected. Stotts usually gives his rookies a shot at some point, even if the leash is shortened. I think he fits well as a four in small ball lineups. He’s good on the boards, likes getting physical, is long, and has the athleticism that should give him an advantage over many others.

The biggest question with him will obviously be his shooting.
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At this point he seems to be a project. There is huge upside there which we haven't really had in a SF prospect since maybe Batum was young.

I really like that Portland has both a good experienced roster and a whole lineup of pop potential with guys like Little, Simons, Trent, Collins, and Skal. It's rare that teams address both the present and the future effectively.
 
He's in a different position, but I feel like he's more similar to Zach Collins than past wings we've drafted (Connaughton, Crabbe, The People's Champ, etc). Those wings got minutes when they could shoot.

With Zach, it turned out we needed help on defense much earlier than some predicted. I was pleasantly surprised he got 1000+ minutes as a rookie.

The same thing might happen with Little. The guys most of us feel like will be getting the lion's share of minutes at SF just aren't athletic, long and strong enough to contend with the elite wings out there on defense. When Paul George is going off on us in a potential route it's going to be mighty tempting to throw Little out there and see if he can do anything to staunch the bleeding.

After a terrible summer league nobody expected anything out of Batum as a rookie. I don't expect Little to start nearly every game like Nic did, but he may be getting more minutes than most of us predict. We've got lots of shooters, but aside from Bazemore we really don't have any stoppers 1-3, and none with Little's length and athleticism.

I think he was a great pick. Portland has been great at teaching guys shooting. It hasn't been nearly so good at teaching perimeter defense. So drafting a guy who needs to learn what Portland can teach seems like a perfect fit.
 
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I think my concern will be can he learn a offensive. Many with North Carolina he looks lost on the offensive end and the whole summer league he was definitely look at that. I believe when he learn the offensive that's when he plays and Stotts offensive is not that hard to figure out.
 
James lamphear said:
I think my concern will be can he learn a offensive. Many with North Carolina he looks lost on the offensive end and the whole summer league he was definitely look at that. I believe when he learn the offensive that's when he plays and Stotts offensive is not that hard to figure out.
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"Stand in the corner and try to hit threes. Slash for putbacks. Stay out of the way." He's got the easiest job in the offense, but yeah, it very well could still be too much.
 
Plan A: Little gets few minutes this year, more minutes next year, enters the rotation in his 3rd year, starts at some point.
Plan B: Little gets some minutes this year, enters the rotation in his 2nd year, starts at some point.
Plan C: Little enters the rotation for significant time this year (due to injury),..

Off Plan: Little is the next coming of Biebs.
 
I'd approach Nas like Jermaine O'Neal, meaning he's a long-term investment. I'd be very surprised if we're hearing the same hype from him that we are hearing from Ant just a year into his NBA career. Nas is a specimen and physically ready for the League, but his basketball skillset needs refining. There's not a consistent jump shot, he's not a threat to score off the bounce, and learning defensive schemes at this level will take some time. No one is questioning his potential, but it will take a lot of hard work and development to tap into it. I'd be thrilled if he's able to get rotation minutes during his third year in the league and any production ahead of that timeline is gravy to me.
 
THE HCP said:
You're crazy....I LOVED Ruben on the floor. Mini Dennis Rodman! Loved his fire!
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He was a spaz who never played well within a system and wrote many checks on the court that his talent couldn't cash.
 
THE HCP said:
Ruben Patterson-Esque
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Im thinking more like Cedric Ceballis. Even AC Green.
Let him use his athleticism around rim, I think he's going to have a knack for being around the ball.
 
Reep said:
I still prefer the Gerald Wallace comparison.
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This is a good comp I think, but I wish Nas was a bit taller. Let's see if he grows a bit.

But part of what made Wallace so good was his reckless abandon. He def earned that CRASH nickname.
 
6’6 in shoes, 7’1.25” wingspan, 8’.85” standing reach, 224 lbs

Just for comparisons sake here are Jimmy Butlers combine measurements:

6’7, 6’7.25”, 8’.5”, 222

So Little definitely has the size.
 
STOMP said:
Height isn't as important a measurement as weight, wingspan and standing reach as you don't play hoops with the top of your head. Little has legit NBA SF size in what matters.

STOMP
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That was pretty damn funny. True, but it was still hilarious....
 
James lamphear said:
I think my concern will be can he learn a offensive. Many with North Carolina he looks lost on the offensive end and the whole summer league he was definitely look at that. I believe when he learn the offensive that's when he plays and Stotts offensive is not that hard to figure out.
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He played one year at NC and did at times look lost on offense but some off the other 1 and done guys did as well. NBA has changed so much over the years with players coming in real young and and many weak on fundamentals.
 
Hoopguru said:
He played one year at NC and did at times look lost on offense but some off the other 1 and done guys did as well. NBA has changed so much over the years with players coming in real young and and many weak on fundamentals.
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college success doesn't always translate...see Adam Morrison and Jimmer Fredette. Long list of guys who had great college programs and success but couldn't hang with the big boys in the NBA....TRob was another....Royce White ..then second round picks or one and done college guys like Will Barton or first rounder Zach Collins come into the league and get it. There are some guys who are serious students of the game...others just want a million bucks and a disco.
 
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