Portland Trail Blazers: 3 reasons Nassir Little was a good pick
By Ty Delbridge
2. Fit on the team
The Blazers could be in a position where they lose current starting forward Al-Farouq Aminu this summer in free agency to another team and Maurice Harkless next summer when his contract expires.
If the organization does end up losing one of those guys, then that makes Little a perfect fit because he could be the player asked to step up. Portland needed more athletic 3-and-D players, and Little looks like he could become a great filler.
He can play whatever position needed and should be able to play alongside either one of them as well. If Portland keeps both guys than Little gives the team great depth and makes the bench unit much better. He needs to shoot the ball better, and that is something he should have no problem doing with this great player development staff the Blazers have.
Little does not have a terrible jump shot, and he could be a guy who at least shoots standstill threes. He shot 77.0 percent from the free throw line in college and that shows promise for his touch as a shooter over time.
He is going to see the floor because of his elite tools for defense/hustle and if he can score, then it’s a bonus for the Blazers. Luckily, he is going to be playing with better offensive players, and he won’t be asked to do a ton and can just focus on doing the little things for the team. He needs to become a better thinker on defense as well and not take plays off like he has been known to.
Aminu and Harkless are currently the two most athletic and versatile 3-and-D wings on the Blazers. Little is a better athlete than both and has a chance to be a become a more meaningful offensive and defensive player if he can figure it all out. Playing Little at power forward alongside centers Jusuf Nurkic or Zach Collin could become an excellent recipe for success for the team.
The Blazers were going to have to address the depth at their forward spots this summer anyway. Now that they added Little in the draft, they can now turn their focus elsewhere with their limited funds to add players to try and help improve the roster.