Why Nassir Little Prioritized Security Over Money in Extension With Trail Blazers

Making sense of Nassir Little's new long-term deal

TUALATIN, Ore.—Nassir Little knows he probably could have gotten more money if he'd waited it out.

When news broke on Monday morning that he'd agreed to a four-year, $28 million extension with the Trail Blazers, the immediate reaction was: That's all?

Yes, Little has had trouble staying on the floor dealing with various injuries through his first three seasons, and looked rusty in the preseason as he's worked his way back from shoulder and core muscle surgeries within the past eight months. But $7 million isn't even the midlevel exception. It's closer in number to the qualifying offer he could sign for next season in a worst-case scenario. So what's the advantage to signing that now rather than betting on himself to get potentially twice that amount or more next summer as a restricted free agent?

"28 million dollars is the advantage," Little said Monday after practice, shortly after the deal became official. "Some security, peace of mind, having that kind of locked in. Having them show their belief in me, it means the world."

From a business standpoint, it's a risk. But if you know Little, it's not surprising.

We sat down over the summer for an extended interview, his first since the shoulder surgery that shut him down for the season in February. What I saw that day was someone with big goals for himself (he told me he felt "disrespected" by questions about whether he'd be the starting small forward), but also secure in his life and genuinely wanting to settle down in Portland.

Very little of our nearly hour-long conversation was about the possibility of a contract extension. When I did bring it up briefly near the end, he insisted it wasn't something he was thinking about.

"My only prediction or what I expect is for me to kill this year," he told me that day in early August. "So if we don't come to an agreement, I'll have a big year. And if we do, then I'm in a good situation. That means we found a situation that makes sense for both sides. If not, I'm gonna just kill and get it on the back end. It's no pressure."

That's easy to say in the summer, when the talks aren't actively happening. Most rookie-scale extensions get done immediately on July 1 (in the case of the no-brainer max guys like Zion Williamson and Ja Morant) or drag out to the final week before the deadline, as negotiations for Jordan Poole in Golden State and Tyler Herro in Miami did.

Once training camp hits and the extension deadline approaches, though, the possibility of playing out the season without long-term security gets more real. Add to that Little losing out on the starting job, which is going to Josh Hart for opening night on Wednesday, it was hard not to wonder if his contract situation was weighing on him more than he let on.

"You'll have guys tell you, 'contract years are the most stressful years,'" Little said Monday. "For me, it just takes that off my shoulders. A lot of the anticipation just goes away, so now I can focus in and secure stuff for myself and my family."

Little's first three years in the NBA have been rocky, for reasons almost entirely out of his control. His rookie season in 2019-20 was shut down in March when the pandemic hit; when the Blazers reconvened in the bubble, he was unable to play after suffering both a concussion and dehydration during practice before games began. The following season, he caught COVID during training camp and took months to get back into playing shape after losing 20 pounds during his illness. His third season, in 2021-22, had the look of a breakout year before the shoulder injury sidelined him in February.

Looking at those setbacks individually, this much is clear: Little may have an injury history but he isn't "injury-prone." He's just been incredibly unlucky.

With that in mind, you can see why he decided the "bet on yourself" approach wasn't for him. He saw a number that would set himself and his family up for the rest of their lives, for four guaranteed years, and didn't overthink it.

"It depends on you as a person, what you think is important, what you value, what you want to get out of life," Little said. "For me, it's more money than I make now, it's more money than I've ever made in my life. I can bet on myself to make more money, but I don't play this game just to make money. I have $28 million on the table, I'll just take it.

"It shows a mutual desire for me to be here. I'm not gonna lie, I think my talent level is worth more than that. But with me having an injury history and stuff like that, and them still taking a chance on me, I want to be here. I'll probably perform at a level that's worth more than that, but being in Portland is what I want to do, so I'm glad I got a chance to lock that in."

Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups can relate. He had a similar non-linear early career of development, bouncing around from team to team before finding a home in Detroit. When he spoke to reporters after practice Monday, I asked him about his own approach when he was first offered a long-term deal, and he revealed priorities similar to those of Little.

"My agent and I were going back and forth the whole time, arguing about it," Billups recalled. "He's saying, 'Chaunce, just do a three-year deal. Or even if it's four, get out after three.' And I'm saying, 'No way. I've got two kids, I just got married, I'm signing the longest deal I can.' And then you see how my career went. You never know what's gonna happen. So I signed a six-year deal for $35 million. The funny thing is, if I would have done [my agent's] deal, for four years [with a third-year option], the year before that I was the MVP of the Finals. That year, we lost in the Finals and I would have been MVP again if we'd won. And then I would have been free. But guess what? I wasn't gambling with my family, I wasn't gambling with my life. I wanted to get that security and then see what happens. So I understand Nas 100 percent."

Sometimes, betting on yourself is a great move. I was still covering the Bulls in the fall of 2014, when Jimmy Butler turned down a four-year, $48 million extension and decided to test restricted free agency the following summer. His gamble paid off with his first career All-Star appearance, Most Improved Player honors and a five-year max deal worth twice the money he turned down.

Maybe Little will have a big year and eventually win that starting job. Maybe he would have gotten more this summer if he wanted to play hardball. To him, not having to think about it anymore is worth the trade-off.

Plus, $28 million is a lot of money.

"If you would have told me I made $28 million at 22 five years ago, I would have been celebrating like it was my birthday or something," Little said. "That notion [that it isn't a lot] just comes from comparing yourself to others. Like, yeah, relatively speaking, it may not be the highest. But … you're talking to someone who, I was very fortunate growing up, but money was tight. Not really buying school clothes while I was in high school, trying to figure stuff out. This is a situation that's going to change my life. It wasn't really something worth turning down to get more. I don't want to say you're 'greedy' if you're betting on yourself. But for me, it was enough for what I want and what I value in my life. I'm very happy with it."