2019 NBA Mock Draft: Re-evaluating the top prospects
142. . F. North Carolina. Nassir Little. 9. player
Little was probably the most peculiar exclusion from the scrimmages at the NBA Draft Combine this month. Many players being mocked around his range (10-30) helped themselves by playing against other NBA athletes in Chicago. However, it seems the benefit of distance from a disappointing season at North Carolina is helping Little’s stock more than any on-court excellence could have.
It seems analysts and front offices are accessing those deep memories of Little’s primary playmaking ability in high school and taking another look at his strong frame and incredible athleticism and saying, “this is a weak class — screw it.”
They might not be wrong to operate that way. If Little can refine his game and tap into that extra gear he had at Orlando Christian Prep, he could make an NBA team very happy. However, many have noted Little’s puzzlingly muted basketball IQ, inconsistent effort and poor team defense. He is well-spoken and generally smart, so he will be able to answer for those lapses in interviews with teams, but overall the decline in his stock has been sharp.
All season, we matched Little with Washington, until analysts started docking Little out of the lottery near the end of the college basketball regular season. Now that he’s back in the top-10 conversation, we return to the Wizards. They need any ounce of All-Star upside they can find in any potential acquisition, and Little is maybe their best chance to find it at No. 9 if the likes of Cam Reddish and Coby White are gone.