Nassir Little

[e_blazer]

One of my biggest disappointments of the bubble was not getting the chance to see Little play due to his concussion and it’s after effects. The reports out of practice was that he had really improved his shot from three. I’d like to know if he can be the Blazers‘ future at the SF spot. I wonder what Olshey is thinking about that.

 

[wizenheimer]

he showed a little promise in 4 or 5 games later in the non-bubble season, but not enough for me to say "yeah, he's going to be a good player"

I wish Portland would have a young perimeter showing some promise who wasn't undersized. Little was only 6'4.5 at the pre-draft and that's just .25 inches taller than Trent

 

[julius]

I just hope he doesn't turn into a spot up 3 point shooter. Not saying that's a bad thing, but he has athleticism and speed and length.

I want him to work on multiple facets of his game. Defense, offense, creating shots for himself, rebounding, dribbling, etc.

 

[blazerkor]

he showed a little promise in 4 or 5 games later in the non-bubble season, but not enough for me to say "yeah, he's going to be a good player"

I wish Portland would have a young perimeter showing some promise who wasn't undersized. Little was only 6'4.5 at the pre-draft and that's just .25 inches taller than Trent

Nassir has a wingspan that is six inches longer than Gary's and Gary's isn't bad for a wing.

 

[Buffalo Custard]

Bottom line, on a team riddled with injuries, he still couldn't earn any court time. If actual on-court performance counts for anything, he is a lesser prospect than Gabriel or Hoard.

 

[blazerkor]

@e_blazer add an s to Little's first name in the thread's title.

 

[B-Roy]

he showed a little promise in 4 or 5 games later in the non-bubble season, but not enough for me to say "yeah, he's going to be a good player"

I wish Portland would have a young perimeter showing some promise who wasn't undersized. Little was only 6'4.5 at the pre-draft and that's just .25 inches taller than Trent

Crazy wingspan makes up for it. Donovan Mitchell is shorter than Dame but his wingspan makes him a better defensive player.

 

[BonesJones]

he showed a little promise in 4 or 5 games later in the non-bubble season, but not enough for me to say "yeah, he's going to be a good player"

I wish Portland would have a young perimeter showing some promise who wasn't undersized. Little was only 6'4.5 at the pre-draft and that's just .25 inches taller than Trent

Wingspan and standing reach matter. Little isnt undersized if you take those into account.

 

[e_blazer]

@e_blazer add an s to Little's first name in the thread's title.

Would if I could, but it takes a mod. @SlyPokerDog a “Little” help, please.

Frickin’ autocorrect on my phone got me.

 

[Labinot41]

When whe drafted him i had dreams that he could be our Kawhi haha. I know it's absurd but a man can dream. I was a bit dissappinted because i thought he would be better offensively, but then i saw why so many teams passed up on him on draft night. He needs to improve his offense like Gary improved his defense

 

[e_blazer]

Wingspan and standing reach matter. Little isnt undersized if you take those into account.

True. He’s also ten-15 pounds heavier, stronger and can jump higher.

 

[e_blazer]

Bottom line, on a team riddled with injuries, he still couldn't earn any court time. If actual on-court performance counts for anything, he is a lesser prospect than Gabriel or Hoard.

You’re relatively new here (unless you’re a reincarnation of one of our many “disappeared” former posters. Are you going to be “that guy” who loves to throw negative spin at every discussion?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Would if I could, but it takes a mod. @SlyPokerDog a “Little” help, please.

Frickin’ autocorrect on my phone got me.

Better?

 

[e_blazer]

Better?

Si, mi perro amigo.

 

[ehizzy3]

He should have a nice improvement next year. He was super raw in NCAA let alone NBA

 

[jlprk]

Bottom line, on a team riddled with injuries, he still couldn't earn any court time. If actual on-court performance counts for anything, he is a lesser prospect than Gabriel or Hoard.

You’re relatively new here (unless you’re a reincarnation of one of our many “disappeared” former posters. Are you going to be “that guy” who loves to throw negative spin at every discussion?

Don't be intimidated by the bullies, Custard. Keep on keeping on and don't become a blind fanboy.

 

[e_blazer]

Don't be intimidated by the bullies, Custard. Keep on keeping on and don't become a blind fanboy.

Hee hee! Are you still whimpering in a corner from all of the “bullying” I’ve given you over lo these many years, jlprk?

 

[wizenheimer]

wingspan has some value but I think a lot of people really overrate that value. It has more value if the wingspan is coupled with quick hands in passing lanes. And wingspan might compensate, a little, for a speed mismatch. But, IMO, that value just about vanishes when you're 6'5 going against 6'9.

 

[blazerkor]

Bottom line, on a team riddled with injuries, he still couldn't earn any court time. If actual on-court performance counts for anything, he is a lesser prospect than Gabriel or Hoard.

Bottom line is that we know that Stotts can take incredibly long to warm up to guys. He hasn't played any rookie with the exception of Dame, not even CJ really and Nas is a guy that got drafted after his freshman season and was labeled as raw. Stotts is so slow to make adjustments and I think him not giving Nas more run this season is far more indicative of Stotts' shortcomings than it is of Nas'. Oh and when looking at minutes earned and when we were injury riddled you might want to look at the stats from this season and remember the games (Nas played well and for a Stotts rookie a lot 12 minutes per game and 5 starts playing really solid D). Nas did get more PT than Wenyen after Wenyen was acquired, Nas was more productive and if you are finding yourself a victim of recency bias just remember that Nas was hurt... what that injury was is a mystery but I don't think it was just his play that kept him out of the last part of the bubble (most likely he had lingering symptoms from a concussion and/or some kind of virus).

 

[blazerkor]

wingspan has some value but I think a lot of people really overrate that value. It has more value if the wingspan is coupled with quick hands in passing lanes. And wingspan might compensate, a little, for a speed mismatch. But, IMO, that value just about vanishes when you're 6'5 going against 6'9.

Height is what is incredibly overvalued, strength, speed, explosiveness and standing reach are all more important... Nas has all of those things and his hands are pretty quick. Footwork and refining his offensive game should be what he is working on and according to his teammates and the little bit we got to see of him in the bubble he has been working hard on those things.

 

[Buffalo Custard]

You’re relatively new here (unless you’re a reincarnation of one of our many “disappeared” former posters. Are you going to be “that guy” who loves to throw negative spin at every discussion?

What can I say? I'm a pragmatist. I would love for Little (or Simons) to be assets to the team. They aren't.

 

[wizenheimer]

Height is what is incredibly overvalued, strength, speed, explosiveness and standing reach are all more important... Nas has all of those things and his hands are pretty quick. Footwork and refining his offensive game should be what he is working on and according to his teammates and the little bit we got to see of him in the bubble he has been working hard on those things.

can we at least agree that wingspan means very little on the offensive end?

so then, you've dialed in the defensive side of things and the vast majority of defense is not played by extended fingers, it's played with positioning, anticipation, reaction, and footwork. And yes, some of it is simply due to mass.

I haven't seen enough of Little to know what kind of a player he's going to be. He's done next to nothing so far. All I was saying is with a 6'2 PG and a 6'2 SG (with a poor wingspan), the thought of a SF under 6'5 isn't too exciting.

 

[blazerkor]

What can I say? I'm a pragmatist. I would love for Little (or Simons) to be assets to the team. They aren't.

Saying that Simons is not an asset to the team is a bit premature. Saying Nas isn't is absolutely ludicrously jumping the gun. I mean seriously where do you come up with this take? The guy showed major progress in a system that very very rarely lets rookies shine... give it some fucking time please. Yikes, your impatience is astounding. Even if you end up being right and Nas doesn't pan out... you're still wrong because you're making such a knee jerk reaction.

 

[e_blazer]

What can I say? I'm a pragmatist. I would love for Little (or Simons) to be assets to the team. They aren't.

Pragmatism has to be based on facts. Little is 20 years old and is an athletically-gifted but extremely raw player. How many rookies has Terry Stotts played significant minutes? Trent got virtually no burn last year yet he has developed into a major talent on the second unit. Saying Little isn’t an asset at this point is so premature it’s hard to take you seriously.

 

[blazerkor]

can we at least agree that wingspan means very little on the offensive end?

so then, you've dialed in the defensive side of things and the vast majority of defense is not played by extended fingers, it's played with positioning, anticipation, reaction, and footwork. And yes, some of it is simply due to mass.

I haven't seen enough of Little to know what kind of a player he's going to be. He's done next to nothing so far. All I was saying is with a 6'2 PG and a 6'2 SG (with a poor wingspan), the thought of a SF under 6'5 isn't too exciting.

Standing reach which is almost always severely impacted by wingspan is important on both ends of the court. Quite simply it makes it so a player is closer to the rim, making it easier for that player to get rebounds on both ends, blocks and dunks which makes them more efficient scorers. The idea that height is the measuring stick for a player's position is outdated by at least three decades. Of course I don't like CJ and Dame paired together in the back court for a number of reasons including their lack of length but Nas has freakish length and athleticism that makes him a great prospect at forward... not even just small forward in this day and age in the NBA.

 

[wizenheimer]

Standing reach which is almost always severely impacted by wingspan is important on both ends of the court. Quite simply it makes it so a player is closer to the rim, making it easier for that player to get rebounds on both ends, blocks and dunks which makes them more efficient scorers. The idea that height is the measuring stick for a player's position is outdated by at least three decades. Of course I don't like CJ and Dame paired together in the back court for a number of reasons including their lack of length but Nas has freakish length and athleticism that makes him a great prospect at forward... not even just small forward in this day and age in the NBA.

standing reach?

nobody rebounds or shoots while standing except maybe Meyers or guys on the foul line

 

[Buffalo Custard]

Pragmatism has to be based on facts. Little is 20 years old and is an athletically-gifted but extremely raw player. How many rookies has Terry Stotts played significant minutes as a rookie? Trent got virtually no burn last year yet he has developed into a major talent on the second unit. Saying Little isn’t an asset at this point is so premature it’s hard to take you seriously.

Clearly, we are speaking different languages. You are talking about some vague point in the future, while I am talking here and now. I'm talking about building a team around one of the best players in team history. A year ago, Trent wasn't contributing to that goal. Now he is. Maybe Little also gets there before our window closes. Most young players wind up falling by the wayside, so the odds are against him. If he is like Trent and beats the odds, I will give him credit then.

You imply my attitude isn't based in fact. Can you at least admit that your view is based on speculation?

 

[e_blazer]

Clearly, we are speaking different languages. You are talking about some vague point in the future, while I am talking here and now. I'm talking about building a team around one of the best players in team history. A year ago, Trent wasn't contributing to that goal. Now he is. Maybe Little also gets there before our window closes. Most young players wind up falling by the wayside, so the odds are against him. If he is like Trent and beats the odds, I will give him credit then.

You imply my attitude isn't based in fact. Can you at least admit that your view is based on speculation?

I think that’s made pretty clear in my opening post. I’m not saying anything about what Nassir will become. I’m just curious, based on reports that he had really improved his shot during the layoff, what Olshey is thinking about him and his future with the team. It will influence what moves he makes this offseason.

Oh, by the way, are you feeling bullied yet?

 

[Buffalo Custard]

I think that’s made pretty clear in my opening post. I’m not saying anything about what Nassir will become. I’m just curious, based on reports that he had really improved his shot during the layoff, what Olshey is thinking about him and his future with the team. It will influence what moves he makes this offseason.

Oh, by the way, are you feeling bullied yet?

Should I? I would prefer to think of it as vigorous disagreement.

 

[e_blazer]

Should I? I would prefer to think of it as vigorous disagreement.

I don’t know. Apparently, according to jlprk, I’m pretty intimidating.