Nassir Little explains why he bet on himself and signed with Heat: ‘They wanted me the most’

When Nassir Little was waived by the Phoenix Suns in late August, he didn’t have much time to find a new NBA home before training camps opened around the league. But that didn’t deter the 2019 first-round pick.

“I was confident that something would show up,” Little, 24, said. “Whether it was guaranteed or not, I just felt like I needed an opportunity. I believe in myself enough to make the most of it.”

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So Little immediately went searching for that opportunity, working out for four teams — the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.

At the end of the month-long process, Little bet on himself and signed a one-year fully non-guaranteed deal to join the Heat with the intention of earning a roster spot by impressing during training camp and the preseason. The Heat has until Oct. 19 at 5 p.m. to decide whether to cut Little without him ever counting against the salary cap, luxury tax and aprons or incur his daily cap hit by keeping him on its roster for the start of the regular season.

“With Miami, I just feel like they valued the type of player that I am the most,” Little said when asked why he chose to sign a non-guaranteed deal with the Heat. “Yeah, there were other opportunities. But I just felt like the reputation that Miami has with players like myself and just the conversations that I had with the staff around here, it wasn’t to that extent with any of the other organizations.

“I just felt like they wanted me and I think that’s kind of what matters. When it comes to making decisions like that, you want the team that you’re considering to want you as much as you want to go there. I definitely feel like they wanted me the most.”

The Heat may have wanted Little the most, but that doesn’t mean he’ll definitely make the cut for the regular-season despite having one open spot on its 15-man roster. That decision could come down to dollars, as Little’s full salary for the season would push the Heat above the ultra-punitive second apron.

The Heat stands just $1.6 million from crossing the second apron and Little’s per day cap hit once the regular season begins would be $13,939, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. If Little is kept on the Heat’s roster for the full season, his cap hit would be more than $2 million — enough to push the Heat past the second apron if it doesn’t shed other salary in this scenario.

By staying under the second apron for now with only 14 fully guaranteed standard contracts for this season, the Heat is still allowed to aggregate salaries in a trade or send out cash in a trade. But because Miami is already above the first apron, it can’t take back more salary in a trade than it sends out.

“I respect that he’s willing to do it — to bet on himself, to bet on development at this point,” Spoelstra said of Little, with the Heat in the Bahamas through Saturday for training camp at Baha Mar. “Because when you’re a former first-round pick, you probably do have some opportunities if you’re patient to explore. He wanted to invest in development that will be longer lasting. And there are no guarantees. That’s just where we are with our roster right now, but we are in full open arms to give him everything we have to develop him and help him reach another level. So it’s exciting for both parties.”

Little (6-foot-6 and 220 pounds) grew up in Florida and attended high school in Orlando before playing one college season at North Carolina. He was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 25th overall pick in the first round of the 2019 draft.

Little spent the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Trail Blazers prior to being dealt to the Phoenix Suns during the 2023 offseason as part of the three-team Damian Lillard trade. Little averaged 3.4 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.2 steals and 0.2 blocks in 10.2 minutes per game while shooting 46 percent from the field and 21 of 70 (30 percent) from three-point range in 45 appearances (two starts) with the Suns last season prior to being waived in August.

Now, Little hopes to become the next name on the Heat’s list of first-round picks turned into reclamation projects. Some of the most recent names on that list are James Johnson and Dion Waiters.

“Looking at their track record, they’ve had a lot of success with players like myself,” Little said. “Underdogs who just kind of need that chance, who have that fire, who have that will to compete. So I just felt like it was a great fit for me, truth be told.”

The feeling is mutual because the Heat also believes that Little is a great fit in its system as an athletic wing with a long 7-foot-1 wingspan.

“The versatility, being able to guard multiple positions, being able to hit shots, being able to use my length and my athleticism to guard guys, pick up full court,” Little said of what Heat brass has told him they like about his game. “You can plug me in, I can be a short roller, pick and pop, whatever the case may be. And I’ve played with dudes and I have experience. I’ve played with great players, I know how to play off of great players. So I think they just valued all those things.”

Whether Little sticks with the Heat past the preseason could come down to his three-point shooting. That area of Little’s game has been inconsistent throughout his career, shooting 36.7 percent from deep on 2.9 three-point attempts per game for the Trail Blazers during the 2022-23 season before shooting just 30 percent from behind the arc on 1.6 three-point attempts per game for the Suns last season.

Little labeled three-point shooting as “the primary focus going into every workout” this past offseason. He has shot 33 percent on threes during his five-year NBA career.

“I think it’s made large strides,” Little said of his three-point shot. “Over the course of my career, it’s been trending up. Last year was a tough situation for me. But if you look at the year prior, I shot 37 percent. So I have the ability to hit shots, I just got to get a rhythm and I’m confident I’ll be able to knock them down.”

While a regular-season roster spot is far from guaranteed for Little, his hope is to use the coming weeks to force the Heat to keep him around.

“I don’t feel like I need to show anything that they don’t know about me already,” Little said. “I think I just need to double down on what they expect me to do. Compete, play hard, show that I can hit shots and space the floor when needed. But I think primarily, that’s what they value is dudes that are going to have that grit, that toughness who are going to defend, be tenacious or whatever it is and try to win games. I think, for me, showing that is what’s going to get me the furthest.”