PORTLAND, Ore. — Former Portland Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little, who was part of the multi-team trade last summer that sent franchise superstar Damian Lillard to Milwaukee, was released Wednesday by the Phoenix Suns, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Little, who spent his first four seasons in Portland, played sparingly for the Suns last season. The 6-foot-8 small forward averaged 3.4 points and 1.7 rebounds last season in 10.2 minutes per game.
The 24-year-old's best season was the 2021-22 campaign with the Blazers, when he averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game. He averaged 6.0 points and 3.2 rebounds across four seasons with Portland after the Blazers drafted him with the 25th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Charania said the Suns will stretch the remaining three years and $22 million on Little's deal. As part of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, the stretch provision allows teams to spread a player's salary cap hit over multiple seasons after the player is waived.
Little will now be a free agent. He's still a young player and NBA teams are always looking for forwards with size, so he may catch on with another team.
