I vote for taking it slow also. First, restore his confidence in Summer League. After he is MVP of summer league, then he can start and be an all-star in February, and Finals MVP in June. barfo
To me, a confidence problem is a red flag. I sure hope that is not the case. The NBA isn't for people who need Tony Robbins to get them out of bed.
To this example only, i disagree. Having had parents both from the military, id say his work ethic will help his confidence in the NBA. You dont declare for the NBA if you dont hsve confidence in yourself in the first place. Competence breeds confidence.
He averaged 21.5PPG & 10RPG Per 40 minutes in college. Struggled from the 3pt line but only shot 52 for the season. Was good in almost every other aspect of the game. And that was with his minutes being wildly varied because he was behind two phenomenal upper classman in Cam Johnson and Luke Maye. When he did come into the game, he was very good. He played with an edge and a swagger about him that I like. He exuded confidence when I saw him play. He literally said that he was going to "prove (Bilas) right" when Bilas said he was a steal. Somehow him saying "Thanks for taking a chance on me" means he has a confidence problem? That doesn't make sense. Nothing suggests he has a confidence problem.
It seems like people are scraping the bottom of the barrel for criticisms of this pick and as Little as a player. Dude will be better than Harkless ever was before he's legal to drink.
I don't get it either. I guess Blazers fans are shell shocked from so much disappointment haha. It's like a tic. Stop worrying so much people!
I agree. If we give him a chance he will already have meaningful contribution next season. I’m hoping we don’t bury him until the final year of his rookie deal as some are proposing here because apparently young players can’t contribute.
Okay- So here is a LITTLE prediction to go with this thread. Nassir Little will play well in Summer league because of his overall physical ability. But his nature is about learning so he will also use his time wisely. Damian Lillard will immediately take this guy under his wing and will get him moving in the right direction. Stotts will do what Stotts usually does and will go with a starting lineup to begin the season and stay with it for around 20 games. Stotts however always finds a time to put a player who is working hard and improving into the lineup to see what happens. Injuries might have an effect on this also. The need for a solid wing player on this team will push up Nas's playing time and by the 60-70 game point of the season he will be in the discussion for ROY. Nassir Little will not be the Rookie of the Year this year because of a slow start and huge competition from Zion. But he will have made great strides for this team. I understand this is a rosey prediction but it is entirely possible and i feel is very realistic from the research i have been doing on this player. He landed in a very good place for him to develop and where there is a huge need for his talents.
I've been waiting for Portland to get a guy like Little for a long time. An athletic wing who can put the ball on the floor and attack the paint on offense, and a potential lock down defender we can use against a team's hottest player. It sounds like he's a little unrefined and maybe his BBIQ is a little behind his athleticism. I think that's okay for our offense, because our wings only need to react to whatever Dame and CJ are creating. In other words, be a clean up guy from the off side which shouldn't be an issue with his current skill level and game understanding. Admittedly, I've never seen him play, but I wonder if he can follow a similar developmental path as Jerome Kersey did.
In Little, Collins and Simons we have three prospects who could make a jump at one point that would elevate team to a much higher level. I always prefer high upside players in our situation - we are good but not good enough to be a contender yet and need an extra punch to get there. You can get solid rotation players if you are Milwaukee or Toronto and all you need is to fill out the bench with playable guys who can do well for 10-15 minutes a night. I also like what we are doing with guys like Skal - taking a flyer on someone who hasn’t exactly done well so far but shown glimpses and was once actually rated very highly. At some point that sort of talent could also explode and change the look of the team.
Every other report i am reading says he is and has always worked very very hard. On the court and off. You don't get 4.2 GPA and academic scholarships to multiple schools without working hard.
I don't think it's something that can't be overcome. Of course I'm not sure if it's even there, but if I was on coaching staff I would check it out.
It's not the case. His goals for himself are the Hall-of-Fame and multiple All-Star appearances. That's what he said when asked. And to be honest, I think he will at least be an All-Star. Also, people need to stop questioning his work ethic. To me this is like questioning Peyton Manning's football IQ.
I think "taking a chance on me" was a fuck-you to lottery teams because he was supposed to go much higher.
