Nassir Little, Kenneth Faried Among Surprises on Blazers Summer League Roster
Michael Beasley and Emmanuel Mudiay aren't the only NBA veterans poised to suit up for the Trail Blazers at Summer League. Still, it's the inclusion of an incumbent on Portland's Las Vegas roster that should have fans most excited to tune in.
The Blazers announced their full Summer League on Tuesday, with rising third-year wing Nassir Little joining a team full of well-known cast-offs and rookie hopefuls.
Portland will be coached in Las Vegas by assistant Roy Rogers, who joined Chauncey Billups' staff in July after both spent last season with the LA Clippers.
Beasley, Mudiay, guard C.J. Elleby, second-round pick Greg Brown, two-way rookie Trendon Watford, undrafted rookie Mark Vital and journeyman wing Erik McCree had previously been reported as members of the Summer Blazers.
It's not entirely shocking that Little would participate, though his presence on the roster still raises eyebrows after an encouraging yet ultimately forgettable 2020-21. Little took major strides as a jump-shooter last season, for a time leading the league in three-point percentage until volume caught up to him.
Terry Stotts earmarked a late-season rotation role for Little, too, after his breakout performance in a win over the Detroit Pistons. But the 21-year-old was never actually afforded the chance Stotts publicly promised him, remaining the Blazers' tenth man as they avoided the play-in tournament with a furious regular-season finish and fell to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
Over 48 appearances last season, Little averaged 4.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game. He came back to earth from three as the year wore on, finishing at respectable but unspectacular 35.0 percent shooting. There's other evidence Little's progress as a shooter was real, though. After shooting 63.6 percent at the free-throw line as a rookie, Little drained 80 percent of his freebies in 2020-21.
Expect Little to emerge as Portland's top offensive option in Las Vegas, jacking threes aggressively and exploring his nascent off-dribble game with the goal of proving himself to Billups and company before the regular season.
Faried, an All-Rookie First Team member in 2012, last played in the league in 2018-19 with the Houston Rockets. It was reported in February that the 31-year-old was working out in Los Angeles with his eyes on an NBA comeback. Odds are against Faried not just due to his age and time away from the league, though, but also the modern game veering away from the undersized big man's limited style of play on both ends of the floor.
Blakeney is the other Summer Blazer with a lengthy league resumé. Undrafted out of LSU in 2017, the combo guard spent two seasons with the Chicago Bulls, playing 57 games off the bench in 2018-19. Blakeney boasts career averages of 7.5 points in 15.0 minutes per game, shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 35.7 percent on threes.
Kobi Simmons, also undrafted in 2017, spent a portion of his rookie season with the Memphis Grizzles before being relegated to the G-League.
Portland tips off Summer League play on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. (PST) against the Charlotte Hornets on NBA TV.