The Golden State Warriors have worked out former Phoenix Suns forward Nassir Little, according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith.
Little, waived by the Suns in August, also had workouts with the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings, Smith added.
The 25-year-old Little was the Portland Trail Blazers‘ 25th overall pick in 2019. He was traded to the Suns as part of the Damian Lillard multi-team trade.
Despite showing promising signs in his final season with the Trail Blazers when he shot a career-high 36.7% from the 3-point range, Little did little to impress the Suns last season.
The 6-foot-6 Little averaged just 3.4 points and shot 30% from the 3-point range in 10.2 minutes off the bench. Despite getting waived by the Suns, Little will still get paid the full $21.8 million remaining on his four-year, $28 million contract over seven years via the stretch-and-waive provision.
Injuries have kept Little from realizing his potential. The former North Carolina Tar Heel has not played more than 54 games in his first five seasons in the league.
The Warriors have one roster spot left. They can carry up to 20 players in the training camp in Hawaii which begins on October 1. But they need to trim that to a maximum of 15 players on standard deals on opening night.
Warriors Named Best Landing Spot for Jimmy Butler
The Warriors want to go big more than just taking a flier on Little.
According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Warriors have an interest in trading for six-time NBA All-Star wing Jimmy Butler.
Butler, 35, has yet to get an extension in Miami, fueling speculations that his time there could be ending.
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey views the Warriors as the best landing spot for Butler if the Heat makes him available. Butler could benefit from the Warriors’ pace-and-space schemes next to Stephen Curry.
“Curry’s unparalleled outside shooting would give Butler more room to operate in that short- to mid-range territory he already dominates. Butler’s playmaking and in-between game, in return, would make it harder to sell out on Curry’s off-ball movement,” Bailey wrote on September 16.
Butler is the type of player the Warriors are willing to make an all-in move.
No other Warrior besides Curry averaged more than 18 points per game last season. Getting Butler would give the Warriors his best co-star since Kevin Durant during their back-to-back title runs in 2017 and 2018.
Warriors Aggressively Looking for Next Steph Curry Co-Star
As Klay Thompson plummeted from Curry’s sidekick to a bench player last season, the Warriors have started plotting their next move.
The Warriors have been aggressive since the February trade deadline in finding Curry a co-star to extend their rapidly closing championship window.
They checked in with the Los Angeles Lakers for LeBron James before the trade deadline. But it never reached James as his agent Rich Paul quickly shut down the idea.
After the Warriors failed to make the playoffs, they went after Paul George and Lauri Markkanen.
But the Los Angeles Clippers did not accept the Warriors’ offer and the Utah Jazz were asking for the farm.
So the Warriors settled for role players Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton.
But none of them could provide the star power Butler can.
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
