Around the NBA - new season chatter

[3toheadmelo]

I'm not sure I can recover from this.

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[god shammgod]

in general, i expect the warriors to be the worst team in the league....

really? I don't think so. they will be in the play-in range. curry is rusty to start the season, but his shot will fall more and draymond just played in his first game. Also Oubre won't continue to missfire like he does now.

okc is really the only other bad team out west, the rest are kind of good. that level of competition all the time is gonna rack up more l's that any east team could. i guess maybe okc could be worst.

edit - i forgot the grizz without morant for awhile. they'll suck too.

[robillionaire]

i wonder if the warriors would entertain trade offers for steph and just go balls deep into a rebuild because there's really no hope there

[god shammgod]

i wonder if the warriors would entertain trade offers for steph and just go balls deep into a rebuild because there's really no hope there

they won't. they're gonna "think" their way out of this because they're so much smarter than everyone.

[god shammgod]

Read on Twitter

i don't think we can end up bottom 3

[cgf]

thats bs. he is really good

he's good if you want to get hoodwinked into using a #1 pick on brickillian and a #8 pick on tyrell terry

we are not even 2 weeks into the season
but he knows his **** and I love listening to his podcasts (but I hate vernon)

Everyone hates Vernon.

[cgf]

in general, i expect the warriors to be the worst team in the league....

really? I don't think so. they will be in the play-in range. curry is rusty to start the season, but his shot will fall more and draymond just played in his first game. Also Oubre won't continue to missfire like he does now.

Famous last words.

[cgf]

i wonder if the warriors would entertain trade offers for steph and just go balls deep into a rebuild because there's really no hope there

I think they'll wait to see if Klay can comeback, and if they can they'll use Wiseman and their two picks in this draft to turn Wiggins into a third star to make another push with the splash bros.

[spree2kawhi]

Quickley/Frank
Hield
RJ
Grant
Mitch

That would have been something.

[spree2kawhi]

I want John Collins at any cost ASAP!

I'm sure Atlanta won't stop us from giving him a Max this summer

He's unrestricted and I underrated his talent. Him stepping into a three is a legitimate threat. We missed out on Grant and Wood already. This is the player we need to sign.

[cgf]

I want John Collins at any cost ASAP!

I'm sure Atlanta won't stop us from giving him a Max this summer

He's unrestricted and I underrated his talent. Him stepping into a three is a legitimate threat. We missed out on Grant and Wood already. This is the player we need to sign.

Another PF who can't protect the rim or switch on the perimeter? Yeah, giving that guy the Max deal that he wants sounds like the Knick thing to do

[spree2kawhi]

I'm sure Atlanta won't stop us from giving him a Max this summer

He's unrestricted and I underrated his talent. Him stepping into a three is a legitimate threat. We missed out on Grant and Wood already. This is the player we need to sign.

Another PF who can't protect the rim or switch on the perimeter? Yeah, giving that guy the Max deal that he wants sounds like the Knick thing to do

Did you watch a different player than I did?

[3toheadmelo]

Damn Nas Little got hit with Covid and lost 20 lbs. Hes negative now though. I hope he comes back strong.

Spoiler:

But during Thursday’s practice in San Francisco, where the Blazers will play Golden State on Friday, there was significance to the feat, because of what Little has gone through this month. On Dec. 1, as part of the NBA’s testing of players and staff, Little learned that he had contracted COVID-19.

It wasn’t until Dec. 22 that Little recorded his first negative test and was able to rejoin the team. In between, he experienced three weeks of hell.

“For me, I was on the worst part of the spectrum, the hard end of the disease,” Little said. “I didn’t have to go to the hospital or be on a ventilator, but I went through it bad. It hit me really bad. For about seven to 10 days, I was just really miserable.”

Although he is back around his teammates, Little is far from returning to a game. The virus ravaged his body. He lost 20 pounds. And his conditioning and strength are nowhere near where he needs to be to compete against NBA players.

His battle with COVID-19 is another chapter in a bizarre and trying first season with the Blazers, when it seemed like every time the first-round pick was turning a corner, he was thwarted by a fluke circumstance.

There was a concussion after he was flipped in midair during a practice in the Orlando bubble. And two weeks later, at the end of a practice in Orlando, he fainted, face-planting into the court. And then this month, as the season was set to start, he was huddled in his Portland home, confronting a disease that has killed more than 342,000 in the United States.

“I would have moments when I was in a hoodie, a hat, sweatpants, socks and a blanket, and I would be shivering like I was in 20-degree weather,” Little said.

Thursday, as the world celebrates the arrival of a new year, Little says he will not toast to the passing of 2020, but he will acknowledge that he is still alive and able to strive for his goals.

“We’ll see what 2021 brings,” Little said six hours before the calendar would turn in San Francisco.

It couldn’t be worse than his 2020.

The day before everything changed, Little was in the Trail Blazers’ practice facility, stroking jump shots. In fact, he had set a personal record on a drill when he would make as many shots without missing two in a row.

That day — Nov. 30 – he made 94 shots without missing two in a row.

“Jump shot was looking good,” the Blazers’ forward said. “It was like I was on this tear.”

Then, on Dec. 1 he awoke to a text message. It was from the team doctor, instructing him to not come into work. His COVID-19 test from the day before had come back inconclusive.

“In my head, I was like, ‘I don’t go anywhere; there is no way I have it,”’ Little said. “I expected it to be a false positive because that happened to one of our staff members in the (Orlando) bubble.”

But by nightfall, he didn’t feel right. As he was watching television and eating chicken and rice, he suddenly lost his appetite. He became hot and fatigued. He wondered whether he was just thinking he was getting sick because of the doctor’s text message.

“I was like, ‘Man, I’m just tripping. I’m going to go to sleep,”‘ Little remembers.

When he awoke, there was no longer any doubt. He felt feverish. He had aches all over his body. And then, the doctor told him his test was conclusive: He was COVID-19 positive. What happened over the next 22 days was a personal hell that Little says he wouldn’t wish on anybody. He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t drink. He couldn’t watch television because of splitting headaches. From the Dec. 1 diagnosis until his first negative test on Dec. 22, he lost 20 pounds.

“I’m not trying to sound morbid or anything, but it was to the point where it was like, you just don’t want to feel anything,” Little said. “It was really that bad. You just wished it would stop. It was consistent, 24/7 … just miserable pain. My back was hurting so bad, my headaches were terrible, I couldn’t eat anything …”

He would awake mornings with soaked sheets from night sweats. He would try to nourish with smoothies but kept throwing them up. He lost his sense of taste and smell. And the headaches would never subside.

He says he doesn’t know where he contracted the virus. He said his family — his mom, dad and two sisters — flew in from Florida to Portland the day before Thanksgiving. The next day, the NBA began its daily testing. Little said he recorded negative tests until Dec. 1, when he and three other Blazers staff members tested positive. His father, Harold, and 23-year-old sister Kamaria also tested positive. His mother, April, and 26-year-old sister Sanasia tested negative.

“I tried to calculate where I caught it, and it’s impossible to really calculate,” Little said. “We had some staff members test positive, so I could have got it at the gym, and I could have given it to my dad and sister, or they could have had it and gave it to me when they came for Thanksgiving. Or, I could have touched something and rubbed my eyes … it’s impossible to know.”

His mother stayed in Portland and cared for Little through his illness. She never contracted the virus, and Little said his father and sister did not have serious symptoms.

“I’m glad the way it played out; I would rather me get the worst of it,” Little said.

Still, it was a frustrating and scary process. He said he always took COVID-19 seriously, a stance that was heightened in April when Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns lost his mother, Jacqueline, to the disease.

“For me, the Karl-Anthony Towns situation made it extremely real for me,” Little said. “A guy being in the league I play in, seeing that happen to a loved one of his, it made me realize it could be anyone, that it could be me. That made it very real to me, so I took it seriously, and even before that, I was the person telling my homies, ‘Y’all need to be smart, be careful … that’s it’s not necessarily about us, it’s about the people who aren’t in the same physical state as us.”‘

As he battled COVID-19, the virus not only attacked his body but it also affected his mind.

“It wears on you because it’s so constant,” Little said. “And then you start to question yourself, like ‘Damn, can I still play? Am I going to come back the same?’ All that stuff starts creeping into your mind. It’s tough.”

That the diagnosis came the morning after his personal-record 94 in the shooting drill seemed fitting. Because in 2020, it seemed any time Little was set to soar, something odd was lurking in the shadows, ready to ground him.

When the Blazers arrived at the Orlando bubble in July, one of the growing storylines on the team was the marked improvement of Little.

From the time the league was suspended in March until the Blazers started practicing again in July, coaches and players were talking about the noticeable difference in Little.

“I was getting a lot of work in, and improving at a pretty fast rate,” Little said. “I felt like I had a legitimate shot at playing significant minutes in the bubble. I felt like I had earned my keep.”

But on the eve of the team’s first scrimmage, during a transition drill during practice, Little went up to dunk. As he was airborne, a teammate tried to block his shot, and in the process, knocked Little off balance. He crashed to the floor.

“I just remember I hit the floor, and I hit my back, my elbow and my head at the same time,” Little said. “So I didn’t know what body part to rub first.”

He was diagnosed with a concussion and battled blurred vision in the days afterward. But as his head healed, it was also at work, too. He sensed the bubble was his opportunity. Trevor Ariza, the team’s starting small forward, opted out of the bubble to be with his family, opening up an opportunity for playing time. And with his dramatic improvement during the shutdown, Little felt this was his moment.

“I rushed myself back,” Little said.

Less than two weeks later, at the end of a practice, he was playing three-on-three with Anfernee Simons, Jaylen Hoard, Wenyen Gabriel, Jaylen Adams and assistant coach Jannero Pargo.

“I was hoopin’, going crazy, getting buckets,” Little remembered. “Then I remember walking and the lights slowly started to get dim. And I was like, ‘Whoa.’ Then the next thing you know, it felt like I went to sleep. It felt like I jumped in bed and went to sleep.”

He fainted on the court, face first.

When he came to, he was confused.

“I could start to hear voices, and it was weird, it was like one ear turned on, then the other ear turned on,” Little said. “And then I opened my eyes and I was on my back and everybody was looking at me.”

He remembers seeing Simons, crying. And he remembers the face of CJ McCollum … Gary Trent Jr. … coach Terry Stotts … top executive Neil Olshey. As the faces came into focus, he began to notice heart monitors were being applied to his chest, and that his lip was split from the fall.

“Everyone had this concerned look on their face,” Little said. “I know it must have been scary for them to see that. You never wish to see something like that.”

After a bank of tests and bloodwork, it was determined Little suffered from dehydration. But he says his fainting had something to do with his concussion and coming back too soon from it.

“To rush myself back from the concussion was nobody’s fault but mine,” Little said. “Doctors can only go off my word, so it’s easy for a player to kind of finagle it in a sense to say whatever you need to say.”

Little would never play in the bubble. All his dedicated work and all of his improvement were never realized. It’s why he was so motivated for the start of the 2020-21 season, which was reflected in his body as well as his skill. After playing his rookie season at 232 pounds, he reported to Portland at 228. A chance to once again prove he was ready for a shot at the rotation was waiting.

Then the positive test. And then the brutal days and nights. At the lowest moment of his illness, he said he weighed 210. The lost weight didn’t compare to what he felt was another lost opportunity.

“In this league, the windows of opportunity are so small,” Little said. “You don’t get unlimited chances. This is not a game of equal opportunity.”

So as he fought off the fevers and tried to swallow food, he was also fighting off other demons. What would his teammates think of him? And would he still be able to play this game at a high level?

[robillionaire]

Damn Nas Little got hit with Covid and lost 20 lbs. Hes negative now though. I hope he comes back strong.

Spoiler:

But during Thursday’s practice in San Francisco, where the Blazers will play Golden State on Friday, there was significance to the feat, because of what Little has gone through this month. On Dec. 1, as part of the NBA’s testing of players and staff, Little learned that he had contracted COVID-19.

It wasn’t until Dec. 22 that Little recorded his first negative test and was able to rejoin the team. In between, he experienced three weeks of hell.

“For me, I was on the worst part of the spectrum, the hard end of the disease,” Little said. “I didn’t have to go to the hospital or be on a ventilator, but I went through it bad. It hit me really bad. For about seven to 10 days, I was just really miserable.”

Although he is back around his teammates, Little is far from returning to a game. The virus ravaged his body. He lost 20 pounds. And his conditioning and strength are nowhere near where he needs to be to compete against NBA players.

His battle with COVID-19 is another chapter in a bizarre and trying first season with the Blazers, when it seemed like every time the first-round pick was turning a corner, he was thwarted by a fluke circumstance.

There was a concussion after he was flipped in midair during a practice in the Orlando bubble. And two weeks later, at the end of a practice in Orlando, he fainted, face-planting into the court. And then this month, as the season was set to start, he was huddled in his Portland home, confronting a disease that has killed more than 342,000 in the United States.

“I would have moments when I was in a hoodie, a hat, sweatpants, socks and a blanket, and I would be shivering like I was in 20-degree weather,” Little said.

Thursday, as the world celebrates the arrival of a new year, Little says he will not toast to the passing of 2020, but he will acknowledge that he is still alive and able to strive for his goals.

“We’ll see what 2021 brings,” Little said six hours before the calendar would turn in San Francisco.

It couldn’t be worse than his 2020.

The day before everything changed, Little was in the Trail Blazers’ practice facility, stroking jump shots. In fact, he had set a personal record on a drill when he would make as many shots without missing two in a row.

That day — Nov. 30 – he made 94 shots without missing two in a row.

“Jump shot was looking good,” the Blazers’ forward said. “It was like I was on this tear.”

Then, on Dec. 1 he awoke to a text message. It was from the team doctor, instructing him to not come into work. His COVID-19 test from the day before had come back inconclusive.

“In my head, I was like, ‘I don’t go anywhere; there is no way I have it,”’ Little said. “I expected it to be a false positive because that happened to one of our staff members in the (Orlando) bubble.”

But by nightfall, he didn’t feel right. As he was watching television and eating chicken and rice, he suddenly lost his appetite. He became hot and fatigued. He wondered whether he was just thinking he was getting sick because of the doctor’s text message.

“I was like, ‘Man, I’m just tripping. I’m going to go to sleep,”‘ Little remembers.

When he awoke, there was no longer any doubt. He felt feverish. He had aches all over his body. And then, the doctor told him his test was conclusive: He was COVID-19 positive. What happened over the next 22 days was a personal hell that Little says he wouldn’t wish on anybody. He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t drink. He couldn’t watch television because of splitting headaches. From the Dec. 1 diagnosis until his first negative test on Dec. 22, he lost 20 pounds.

“I’m not trying to sound morbid or anything, but it was to the point where it was like, you just don’t want to feel anything,” Little said. “It was really that bad. You just wished it would stop. It was consistent, 24/7 … just miserable pain. My back was hurting so bad, my headaches were terrible, I couldn’t eat anything …”

He would awake mornings with soaked sheets from night sweats. He would try to nourish with smoothies but kept throwing them up. He lost his sense of taste and smell. And the headaches would never subside.

He says he doesn’t know where he contracted the virus. He said his family — his mom, dad and two sisters — flew in from Florida to Portland the day before Thanksgiving. The next day, the NBA began its daily testing. Little said he recorded negative tests until Dec. 1, when he and three other Blazers staff members tested positive. His father, Harold, and 23-year-old sister Kamaria also tested positive. His mother, April, and 26-year-old sister Sanasia tested negative.

“I tried to calculate where I caught it, and it’s impossible to really calculate,” Little said. “We had some staff members test positive, so I could have got it at the gym, and I could have given it to my dad and sister, or they could have had it and gave it to me when they came for Thanksgiving. Or, I could have touched something and rubbed my eyes … it’s impossible to know.”

His mother stayed in Portland and cared for Little through his illness. She never contracted the virus, and Little said his father and sister did not have serious symptoms.

“I’m glad the way it played out; I would rather me get the worst of it,” Little said.

Still, it was a frustrating and scary process. He said he always took COVID-19 seriously, a stance that was heightened in April when Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns lost his mother, Jacqueline, to the disease.

“For me, the Karl-Anthony Towns situation made it extremely real for me,” Little said. “A guy being in the league I play in, seeing that happen to a loved one of his, it made me realize it could be anyone, that it could be me. That made it very real to me, so I took it seriously, and even before that, I was the person telling my homies, ‘Y’all need to be smart, be careful … that’s it’s not necessarily about us, it’s about the people who aren’t in the same physical state as us.”‘

As he battled COVID-19, the virus not only attacked his body but it also affected his mind.

“It wears on you because it’s so constant,” Little said. “And then you start to question yourself, like ‘Damn, can I still play? Am I going to come back the same?’ All that stuff starts creeping into your mind. It’s tough.”

That the diagnosis came the morning after his personal-record 94 in the shooting drill seemed fitting. Because in 2020, it seemed any time Little was set to soar, something odd was lurking in the shadows, ready to ground him.

When the Blazers arrived at the Orlando bubble in July, one of the growing storylines on the team was the marked improvement of Little.

From the time the league was suspended in March until the Blazers started practicing again in July, coaches and players were talking about the noticeable difference in Little.

“I was getting a lot of work in, and improving at a pretty fast rate,” Little said. “I felt like I had a legitimate shot at playing significant minutes in the bubble. I felt like I had earned my keep.”

But on the eve of the team’s first scrimmage, during a transition drill during practice, Little went up to dunk. As he was airborne, a teammate tried to block his shot, and in the process, knocked Little off balance. He crashed to the floor.

“I just remember I hit the floor, and I hit my back, my elbow and my head at the same time,” Little said. “So I didn’t know what body part to rub first.”

He was diagnosed with a concussion and battled blurred vision in the days afterward. But as his head healed, it was also at work, too. He sensed the bubble was his opportunity. Trevor Ariza, the team’s starting small forward, opted out of the bubble to be with his family, opening up an opportunity for playing time. And with his dramatic improvement during the shutdown, Little felt this was his moment.

“I rushed myself back,” Little said.

Less than two weeks later, at the end of a practice, he was playing three-on-three with Anfernee Simons, Jaylen Hoard, Wenyen Gabriel, Jaylen Adams and assistant coach Jannero Pargo.

“I was hoopin’, going crazy, getting buckets,” Little remembered. “Then I remember walking and the lights slowly started to get dim. And I was like, ‘Whoa.’ Then the next thing you know, it felt like I went to sleep. It felt like I jumped in bed and went to sleep.”

He fainted on the court, face first.

When he came to, he was confused.

“I could start to hear voices, and it was weird, it was like one ear turned on, then the other ear turned on,” Little said. “And then I opened my eyes and I was on my back and everybody was looking at me.”

He remembers seeing Simons, crying. And he remembers the face of CJ McCollum … Gary Trent Jr. … coach Terry Stotts … top executive Neil Olshey. As the faces came into focus, he began to notice heart monitors were being applied to his chest, and that his lip was split from the fall.

“Everyone had this concerned look on their face,” Little said. “I know it must have been scary for them to see that. You never wish to see something like that.”

After a bank of tests and bloodwork, it was determined Little suffered from dehydration. But he says his fainting had something to do with his concussion and coming back too soon from it.

“To rush myself back from the concussion was nobody’s fault but mine,” Little said. “Doctors can only go off my word, so it’s easy for a player to kind of finagle it in a sense to say whatever you need to say.”

Little would never play in the bubble. All his dedicated work and all of his improvement were never realized. It’s why he was so motivated for the start of the 2020-21 season, which was reflected in his body as well as his skill. After playing his rookie season at 232 pounds, he reported to Portland at 228. A chance to once again prove he was ready for a shot at the rotation was waiting.

Then the positive test. And then the brutal days and nights. At the lowest moment of his illness, he said he weighed 210. The lost weight didn’t compare to what he felt was another lost opportunity.

“In this league, the windows of opportunity are so small,” Little said. “You don’t get unlimited chances. This is not a game of equal opportunity.”

So as he fought off the fevers and tried to swallow food, he was also fighting off other demons. What would his teammates think of him? And would he still be able to play this game at a high level?

is he even still in the NBA? prayers sent up

[knicksNOTslick]

Read on Twitter

i don't think we can end up bottom 3

All it's predicting for me is that we'll probably be picking 8th again.

[Capn'O]

Damn Nas Little got hit with Covid and lost 20 lbs. Hes negative now though. I hope he comes back strong.

Spoiler:

But during Thursday’s practice in San Francisco, where the Blazers will play Golden State on Friday, there was significance to the feat, because of what Little has gone through this month. On Dec. 1, as part of the NBA’s testing of players and staff, Little learned that he had contracted COVID-19.

It wasn’t until Dec. 22 that Little recorded his first negative test and was able to rejoin the team. In between, he experienced three weeks of hell.

“For me, I was on the worst part of the spectrum, the hard end of the disease,” Little said. “I didn’t have to go to the hospital or be on a ventilator, but I went through it bad. It hit me really bad. For about seven to 10 days, I was just really miserable.”

Although he is back around his teammates, Little is far from returning to a game. The virus ravaged his body. He lost 20 pounds. And his conditioning and strength are nowhere near where he needs to be to compete against NBA players.

His battle with COVID-19 is another chapter in a bizarre and trying first season with the Blazers, when it seemed like every time the first-round pick was turning a corner, he was thwarted by a fluke circumstance.

There was a concussion after he was flipped in midair during a practice in the Orlando bubble. And two weeks later, at the end of a practice in Orlando, he fainted, face-planting into the court. And then this month, as the season was set to start, he was huddled in his Portland home, confronting a disease that has killed more than 342,000 in the United States.

“I would have moments when I was in a hoodie, a hat, sweatpants, socks and a blanket, and I would be shivering like I was in 20-degree weather,” Little said.

Thursday, as the world celebrates the arrival of a new year, Little says he will not toast to the passing of 2020, but he will acknowledge that he is still alive and able to strive for his goals.

“We’ll see what 2021 brings,” Little said six hours before the calendar would turn in San Francisco.

It couldn’t be worse than his 2020.

The day before everything changed, Little was in the Trail Blazers’ practice facility, stroking jump shots. In fact, he had set a personal record on a drill when he would make as many shots without missing two in a row.

That day — Nov. 30 – he made 94 shots without missing two in a row.

“Jump shot was looking good,” the Blazers’ forward said. “It was like I was on this tear.”

Then, on Dec. 1 he awoke to a text message. It was from the team doctor, instructing him to not come into work. His COVID-19 test from the day before had come back inconclusive.

“In my head, I was like, ‘I don’t go anywhere; there is no way I have it,”’ Little said. “I expected it to be a false positive because that happened to one of our staff members in the (Orlando) bubble.”

But by nightfall, he didn’t feel right. As he was watching television and eating chicken and rice, he suddenly lost his appetite. He became hot and fatigued. He wondered whether he was just thinking he was getting sick because of the doctor’s text message.

“I was like, ‘Man, I’m just tripping. I’m going to go to sleep,”‘ Little remembers.

When he awoke, there was no longer any doubt. He felt feverish. He had aches all over his body. And then, the doctor told him his test was conclusive: He was COVID-19 positive. What happened over the next 22 days was a personal hell that Little says he wouldn’t wish on anybody. He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t drink. He couldn’t watch television because of splitting headaches. From the Dec. 1 diagnosis until his first negative test on Dec. 22, he lost 20 pounds.

“I’m not trying to sound morbid or anything, but it was to the point where it was like, you just don’t want to feel anything,” Little said. “It was really that bad. You just wished it would stop. It was consistent, 24/7 … just miserable pain. My back was hurting so bad, my headaches were terrible, I couldn’t eat anything …”

He would awake mornings with soaked sheets from night sweats. He would try to nourish with smoothies but kept throwing them up. He lost his sense of taste and smell. And the headaches would never subside.

He says he doesn’t know where he contracted the virus. He said his family — his mom, dad and two sisters — flew in from Florida to Portland the day before Thanksgiving. The next day, the NBA began its daily testing. Little said he recorded negative tests until Dec. 1, when he and three other Blazers staff members tested positive. His father, Harold, and 23-year-old sister Kamaria also tested positive. His mother, April, and 26-year-old sister Sanasia tested negative.

“I tried to calculate where I caught it, and it’s impossible to really calculate,” Little said. “We had some staff members test positive, so I could have got it at the gym, and I could have given it to my dad and sister, or they could have had it and gave it to me when they came for Thanksgiving. Or, I could have touched something and rubbed my eyes … it’s impossible to know.”

His mother stayed in Portland and cared for Little through his illness. She never contracted the virus, and Little said his father and sister did not have serious symptoms.

“I’m glad the way it played out; I would rather me get the worst of it,” Little said.

Still, it was a frustrating and scary process. He said he always took COVID-19 seriously, a stance that was heightened in April when Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns lost his mother, Jacqueline, to the disease.

“For me, the Karl-Anthony Towns situation made it extremely real for me,” Little said. “A guy being in the league I play in, seeing that happen to a loved one of his, it made me realize it could be anyone, that it could be me. That made it very real to me, so I took it seriously, and even before that, I was the person telling my homies, ‘Y’all need to be smart, be careful … that’s it’s not necessarily about us, it’s about the people who aren’t in the same physical state as us.”‘

As he battled COVID-19, the virus not only attacked his body but it also affected his mind.

“It wears on you because it’s so constant,” Little said. “And then you start to question yourself, like ‘Damn, can I still play? Am I going to come back the same?’ All that stuff starts creeping into your mind. It’s tough.”

That the diagnosis came the morning after his personal-record 94 in the shooting drill seemed fitting. Because in 2020, it seemed any time Little was set to soar, something odd was lurking in the shadows, ready to ground him.

When the Blazers arrived at the Orlando bubble in July, one of the growing storylines on the team was the marked improvement of Little.

From the time the league was suspended in March until the Blazers started practicing again in July, coaches and players were talking about the noticeable difference in Little.

“I was getting a lot of work in, and improving at a pretty fast rate,” Little said. “I felt like I had a legitimate shot at playing significant minutes in the bubble. I felt like I had earned my keep.”

But on the eve of the team’s first scrimmage, during a transition drill during practice, Little went up to dunk. As he was airborne, a teammate tried to block his shot, and in the process, knocked Little off balance. He crashed to the floor.

“I just remember I hit the floor, and I hit my back, my elbow and my head at the same time,” Little said. “So I didn’t know what body part to rub first.”

He was diagnosed with a concussion and battled blurred vision in the days afterward. But as his head healed, it was also at work, too. He sensed the bubble was his opportunity. Trevor Ariza, the team’s starting small forward, opted out of the bubble to be with his family, opening up an opportunity for playing time. And with his dramatic improvement during the shutdown, Little felt this was his moment.

“I rushed myself back,” Little said.

Less than two weeks later, at the end of a practice, he was playing three-on-three with Anfernee Simons, Jaylen Hoard, Wenyen Gabriel, Jaylen Adams and assistant coach Jannero Pargo.

“I was hoopin’, going crazy, getting buckets,” Little remembered. “Then I remember walking and the lights slowly started to get dim. And I was like, ‘Whoa.’ Then the next thing you know, it felt like I went to sleep. It felt like I jumped in bed and went to sleep.”

He fainted on the court, face first.

When he came to, he was confused.

“I could start to hear voices, and it was weird, it was like one ear turned on, then the other ear turned on,” Little said. “And then I opened my eyes and I was on my back and everybody was looking at me.”

He remembers seeing Simons, crying. And he remembers the face of CJ McCollum … Gary Trent Jr. … coach Terry Stotts … top executive Neil Olshey. As the faces came into focus, he began to notice heart monitors were being applied to his chest, and that his lip was split from the fall.

“Everyone had this concerned look on their face,” Little said. “I know it must have been scary for them to see that. You never wish to see something like that.”

After a bank of tests and bloodwork, it was determined Little suffered from dehydration. But he says his fainting had something to do with his concussion and coming back too soon from it.

“To rush myself back from the concussion was nobody’s fault but mine,” Little said. “Doctors can only go off my word, so it’s easy for a player to kind of finagle it in a sense to say whatever you need to say.”

Little would never play in the bubble. All his dedicated work and all of his improvement were never realized. It’s why he was so motivated for the start of the 2020-21 season, which was reflected in his body as well as his skill. After playing his rookie season at 232 pounds, he reported to Portland at 228. A chance to once again prove he was ready for a shot at the rotation was waiting.

Then the positive test. And then the brutal days and nights. At the lowest moment of his illness, he said he weighed 210. The lost weight didn’t compare to what he felt was another lost opportunity.

“In this league, the windows of opportunity are so small,” Little said. “You don’t get unlimited chances. This is not a game of equal opportunity.”

So as he fought off the fevers and tried to swallow food, he was also fighting off other demons. What would his teammates think of him? And would he still be able to play this game at a high level?

IIRC around that time Blazers missed some camp because of Covid protocols. Hope Nas recovers so he can get his crack at a place in the rotation this year. He's had a go of it.

[thebuzzardman]

I want John Collins at any cost ASAP!

I'm sure Atlanta won't stop us from giving him a Max this summer

He's unrestricted and I underrated his talent. Him stepping into a three is a legitimate threat. We missed out on Grant and Wood already. This is the player we need to sign.

He's going to cost a bit more than them

*edit - there are things I like about his game.

Collins in a 3 big rotation of Obi/Collins/Mitch?

[iLLmatic860]

Since Hali seem promising. Does that mean Hield otb?

[cgf]

Damn Nas Little got hit with Covid and lost 20 lbs. Hes negative now though. I hope he comes back strong.

Spoiler:

But during Thursday’s practice in San Francisco, where the Blazers will play Golden State on Friday, there was significance to the feat, because of what Little has gone through this month. On Dec. 1, as part of the NBA’s testing of players and staff, Little learned that he had contracted COVID-19.

It wasn’t until Dec. 22 that Little recorded his first negative test and was able to rejoin the team. In between, he experienced three weeks of hell.

“For me, I was on the worst part of the spectrum, the hard end of the disease,” Little said. “I didn’t have to go to the hospital or be on a ventilator, but I went through it bad. It hit me really bad. For about seven to 10 days, I was just really miserable.”

Although he is back around his teammates, Little is far from returning to a game. The virus ravaged his body. He lost 20 pounds. And his conditioning and strength are nowhere near where he needs to be to compete against NBA players.

His battle with COVID-19 is another chapter in a bizarre and trying first season with the Blazers, when it seemed like every time the first-round pick was turning a corner, he was thwarted by a fluke circumstance.

There was a concussion after he was flipped in midair during a practice in the Orlando bubble. And two weeks later, at the end of a practice in Orlando, he fainted, face-planting into the court. And then this month, as the season was set to start, he was huddled in his Portland home, confronting a disease that has killed more than 342,000 in the United States.

“I would have moments when I was in a hoodie, a hat, sweatpants, socks and a blanket, and I would be shivering like I was in 20-degree weather,” Little said.

Thursday, as the world celebrates the arrival of a new year, Little says he will not toast to the passing of 2020, but he will acknowledge that he is still alive and able to strive for his goals.

“We’ll see what 2021 brings,” Little said six hours before the calendar would turn in San Francisco.

It couldn’t be worse than his 2020.

The day before everything changed, Little was in the Trail Blazers’ practice facility, stroking jump shots. In fact, he had set a personal record on a drill when he would make as many shots without missing two in a row.

That day — Nov. 30 – he made 94 shots without missing two in a row.

“Jump shot was looking good,” the Blazers’ forward said. “It was like I was on this tear.”

Then, on Dec. 1 he awoke to a text message. It was from the team doctor, instructing him to not come into work. His COVID-19 test from the day before had come back inconclusive.

“In my head, I was like, ‘I don’t go anywhere; there is no way I have it,”’ Little said. “I expected it to be a false positive because that happened to one of our staff members in the (Orlando) bubble.”

But by nightfall, he didn’t feel right. As he was watching television and eating chicken and rice, he suddenly lost his appetite. He became hot and fatigued. He wondered whether he was just thinking he was getting sick because of the doctor’s text message.

“I was like, ‘Man, I’m just tripping. I’m going to go to sleep,”‘ Little remembers.

When he awoke, there was no longer any doubt. He felt feverish. He had aches all over his body. And then, the doctor told him his test was conclusive: He was COVID-19 positive. What happened over the next 22 days was a personal hell that Little says he wouldn’t wish on anybody. He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t drink. He couldn’t watch television because of splitting headaches. From the Dec. 1 diagnosis until his first negative test on Dec. 22, he lost 20 pounds.

“I’m not trying to sound morbid or anything, but it was to the point where it was like, you just don’t want to feel anything,” Little said. “It was really that bad. You just wished it would stop. It was consistent, 24/7 … just miserable pain. My back was hurting so bad, my headaches were terrible, I couldn’t eat anything …”

He would awake mornings with soaked sheets from night sweats. He would try to nourish with smoothies but kept throwing them up. He lost his sense of taste and smell. And the headaches would never subside.

He says he doesn’t know where he contracted the virus. He said his family — his mom, dad and two sisters — flew in from Florida to Portland the day before Thanksgiving. The next day, the NBA began its daily testing. Little said he recorded negative tests until Dec. 1, when he and three other Blazers staff members tested positive. His father, Harold, and 23-year-old sister Kamaria also tested positive. His mother, April, and 26-year-old sister Sanasia tested negative.

“I tried to calculate where I caught it, and it’s impossible to really calculate,” Little said. “We had some staff members test positive, so I could have got it at the gym, and I could have given it to my dad and sister, or they could have had it and gave it to me when they came for Thanksgiving. Or, I could have touched something and rubbed my eyes … it’s impossible to know.”

His mother stayed in Portland and cared for Little through his illness. She never contracted the virus, and Little said his father and sister did not have serious symptoms.

“I’m glad the way it played out; I would rather me get the worst of it,” Little said.

Still, it was a frustrating and scary process. He said he always took COVID-19 seriously, a stance that was heightened in April when Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns lost his mother, Jacqueline, to the disease.

“For me, the Karl-Anthony Towns situation made it extremely real for me,” Little said. “A guy being in the league I play in, seeing that happen to a loved one of his, it made me realize it could be anyone, that it could be me. That made it very real to me, so I took it seriously, and even before that, I was the person telling my homies, ‘Y’all need to be smart, be careful … that’s it’s not necessarily about us, it’s about the people who aren’t in the same physical state as us.”‘

As he battled COVID-19, the virus not only attacked his body but it also affected his mind.

“It wears on you because it’s so constant,” Little said. “And then you start to question yourself, like ‘Damn, can I still play? Am I going to come back the same?’ All that stuff starts creeping into your mind. It’s tough.”

That the diagnosis came the morning after his personal-record 94 in the shooting drill seemed fitting. Because in 2020, it seemed any time Little was set to soar, something odd was lurking in the shadows, ready to ground him.

When the Blazers arrived at the Orlando bubble in July, one of the growing storylines on the team was the marked improvement of Little.

From the time the league was suspended in March until the Blazers started practicing again in July, coaches and players were talking about the noticeable difference in Little.

“I was getting a lot of work in, and improving at a pretty fast rate,” Little said. “I felt like I had a legitimate shot at playing significant minutes in the bubble. I felt like I had earned my keep.”

But on the eve of the team’s first scrimmage, during a transition drill during practice, Little went up to dunk. As he was airborne, a teammate tried to block his shot, and in the process, knocked Little off balance. He crashed to the floor.

“I just remember I hit the floor, and I hit my back, my elbow and my head at the same time,” Little said. “So I didn’t know what body part to rub first.”

He was diagnosed with a concussion and battled blurred vision in the days afterward. But as his head healed, it was also at work, too. He sensed the bubble was his opportunity. Trevor Ariza, the team’s starting small forward, opted out of the bubble to be with his family, opening up an opportunity for playing time. And with his dramatic improvement during the shutdown, Little felt this was his moment.

“I rushed myself back,” Little said.

Less than two weeks later, at the end of a practice, he was playing three-on-three with Anfernee Simons, Jaylen Hoard, Wenyen Gabriel, Jaylen Adams and assistant coach Jannero Pargo.

“I was hoopin’, going crazy, getting buckets,” Little remembered. “Then I remember walking and the lights slowly started to get dim. And I was like, ‘Whoa.’ Then the next thing you know, it felt like I went to sleep. It felt like I jumped in bed and went to sleep.”

He fainted on the court, face first.

When he came to, he was confused.

“I could start to hear voices, and it was weird, it was like one ear turned on, then the other ear turned on,” Little said. “And then I opened my eyes and I was on my back and everybody was looking at me.”

He remembers seeing Simons, crying. And he remembers the face of CJ McCollum … Gary Trent Jr. … coach Terry Stotts … top executive Neil Olshey. As the faces came into focus, he began to notice heart monitors were being applied to his chest, and that his lip was split from the fall.

“Everyone had this concerned look on their face,” Little said. “I know it must have been scary for them to see that. You never wish to see something like that.”

After a bank of tests and bloodwork, it was determined Little suffered from dehydration. But he says his fainting had something to do with his concussion and coming back too soon from it.

“To rush myself back from the concussion was nobody’s fault but mine,” Little said. “Doctors can only go off my word, so it’s easy for a player to kind of finagle it in a sense to say whatever you need to say.”

Little would never play in the bubble. All his dedicated work and all of his improvement were never realized. It’s why he was so motivated for the start of the 2020-21 season, which was reflected in his body as well as his skill. After playing his rookie season at 232 pounds, he reported to Portland at 228. A chance to once again prove he was ready for a shot at the rotation was waiting.

Then the positive test. And then the brutal days and nights. At the lowest moment of his illness, he said he weighed 210. The lost weight didn’t compare to what he felt was another lost opportunity.

“In this league, the windows of opportunity are so small,” Little said. “You don’t get unlimited chances. This is not a game of equal opportunity.”

So as he fought off the fevers and tried to swallow food, he was also fighting off other demons. What would his teammates think of him? And would he still be able to play this game at a high level?

I want that kid to succeed so bad.

[3toheadmelo]

Damn Nas Little got hit with Covid and lost 20 lbs. Hes negative now though. I hope he comes back strong.

Spoiler:

But during Thursday’s practice in San Francisco, where the Blazers will play Golden State on Friday, there was significance to the feat, because of what Little has gone through this month. On Dec. 1, as part of the NBA’s testing of players and staff, Little learned that he had contracted COVID-19.

It wasn’t until Dec. 22 that Little recorded his first negative test and was able to rejoin the team. In between, he experienced three weeks of hell.

“For me, I was on the worst part of the spectrum, the hard end of the disease,” Little said. “I didn’t have to go to the hospital or be on a ventilator, but I went through it bad. It hit me really bad. For about seven to 10 days, I was just really miserable.”

Although he is back around his teammates, Little is far from returning to a game. The virus ravaged his body. He lost 20 pounds. And his conditioning and strength are nowhere near where he needs to be to compete against NBA players.

His battle with COVID-19 is another chapter in a bizarre and trying first season with the Blazers, when it seemed like every time the first-round pick was turning a corner, he was thwarted by a fluke circumstance.

There was a concussion after he was flipped in midair during a practice in the Orlando bubble. And two weeks later, at the end of a practice in Orlando, he fainted, face-planting into the court. And then this month, as the season was set to start, he was huddled in his Portland home, confronting a disease that has killed more than 342,000 in the United States.

“I would have moments when I was in a hoodie, a hat, sweatpants, socks and a blanket, and I would be shivering like I was in 20-degree weather,” Little said.

Thursday, as the world celebrates the arrival of a new year, Little says he will not toast to the passing of 2020, but he will acknowledge that he is still alive and able to strive for his goals.

“We’ll see what 2021 brings,” Little said six hours before the calendar would turn in San Francisco.

It couldn’t be worse than his 2020.

The day before everything changed, Little was in the Trail Blazers’ practice facility, stroking jump shots. In fact, he had set a personal record on a drill when he would make as many shots without missing two in a row.

That day — Nov. 30 – he made 94 shots without missing two in a row.

“Jump shot was looking good,” the Blazers’ forward said. “It was like I was on this tear.”

Then, on Dec. 1 he awoke to a text message. It was from the team doctor, instructing him to not come into work. His COVID-19 test from the day before had come back inconclusive.

“In my head, I was like, ‘I don’t go anywhere; there is no way I have it,”’ Little said. “I expected it to be a false positive because that happened to one of our staff members in the (Orlando) bubble.”

But by nightfall, he didn’t feel right. As he was watching television and eating chicken and rice, he suddenly lost his appetite. He became hot and fatigued. He wondered whether he was just thinking he was getting sick because of the doctor’s text message.

“I was like, ‘Man, I’m just tripping. I’m going to go to sleep,”‘ Little remembers.

When he awoke, there was no longer any doubt. He felt feverish. He had aches all over his body. And then, the doctor told him his test was conclusive: He was COVID-19 positive. What happened over the next 22 days was a personal hell that Little says he wouldn’t wish on anybody. He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t drink. He couldn’t watch television because of splitting headaches. From the Dec. 1 diagnosis until his first negative test on Dec. 22, he lost 20 pounds.

“I’m not trying to sound morbid or anything, but it was to the point where it was like, you just don’t want to feel anything,” Little said. “It was really that bad. You just wished it would stop. It was consistent, 24/7 … just miserable pain. My back was hurting so bad, my headaches were terrible, I couldn’t eat anything …”

He would awake mornings with soaked sheets from night sweats. He would try to nourish with smoothies but kept throwing them up. He lost his sense of taste and smell. And the headaches would never subside.

He says he doesn’t know where he contracted the virus. He said his family — his mom, dad and two sisters — flew in from Florida to Portland the day before Thanksgiving. The next day, the NBA began its daily testing. Little said he recorded negative tests until Dec. 1, when he and three other Blazers staff members tested positive. His father, Harold, and 23-year-old sister Kamaria also tested positive. His mother, April, and 26-year-old sister Sanasia tested negative.

“I tried to calculate where I caught it, and it’s impossible to really calculate,” Little said. “We had some staff members test positive, so I could have got it at the gym, and I could have given it to my dad and sister, or they could have had it and gave it to me when they came for Thanksgiving. Or, I could have touched something and rubbed my eyes … it’s impossible to know.”

His mother stayed in Portland and cared for Little through his illness. She never contracted the virus, and Little said his father and sister did not have serious symptoms.

“I’m glad the way it played out; I would rather me get the worst of it,” Little said.

Still, it was a frustrating and scary process. He said he always took COVID-19 seriously, a stance that was heightened in April when Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns lost his mother, Jacqueline, to the disease.

“For me, the Karl-Anthony Towns situation made it extremely real for me,” Little said. “A guy being in the league I play in, seeing that happen to a loved one of his, it made me realize it could be anyone, that it could be me. That made it very real to me, so I took it seriously, and even before that, I was the person telling my homies, ‘Y’all need to be smart, be careful … that’s it’s not necessarily about us, it’s about the people who aren’t in the same physical state as us.”‘

As he battled COVID-19, the virus not only attacked his body but it also affected his mind.

“It wears on you because it’s so constant,” Little said. “And then you start to question yourself, like ‘Damn, can I still play? Am I going to come back the same?’ All that stuff starts creeping into your mind. It’s tough.”

That the diagnosis came the morning after his personal-record 94 in the shooting drill seemed fitting. Because in 2020, it seemed any time Little was set to soar, something odd was lurking in the shadows, ready to ground him.

When the Blazers arrived at the Orlando bubble in July, one of the growing storylines on the team was the marked improvement of Little.

From the time the league was suspended in March until the Blazers started practicing again in July, coaches and players were talking about the noticeable difference in Little.

“I was getting a lot of work in, and improving at a pretty fast rate,” Little said. “I felt like I had a legitimate shot at playing significant minutes in the bubble. I felt like I had earned my keep.”

But on the eve of the team’s first scrimmage, during a transition drill during practice, Little went up to dunk. As he was airborne, a teammate tried to block his shot, and in the process, knocked Little off balance. He crashed to the floor.

“I just remember I hit the floor, and I hit my back, my elbow and my head at the same time,” Little said. “So I didn’t know what body part to rub first.”

He was diagnosed with a concussion and battled blurred vision in the days afterward. But as his head healed, it was also at work, too. He sensed the bubble was his opportunity. Trevor Ariza, the team’s starting small forward, opted out of the bubble to be with his family, opening up an opportunity for playing time. And with his dramatic improvement during the shutdown, Little felt this was his moment.

“I rushed myself back,” Little said.

Less than two weeks later, at the end of a practice, he was playing three-on-three with Anfernee Simons, Jaylen Hoard, Wenyen Gabriel, Jaylen Adams and assistant coach Jannero Pargo.

“I was hoopin’, going crazy, getting buckets,” Little remembered. “Then I remember walking and the lights slowly started to get dim. And I was like, ‘Whoa.’ Then the next thing you know, it felt like I went to sleep. It felt like I jumped in bed and went to sleep.”

He fainted on the court, face first.

When he came to, he was confused.

“I could start to hear voices, and it was weird, it was like one ear turned on, then the other ear turned on,” Little said. “And then I opened my eyes and I was on my back and everybody was looking at me.”

He remembers seeing Simons, crying. And he remembers the face of CJ McCollum … Gary Trent Jr. … coach Terry Stotts … top executive Neil Olshey. As the faces came into focus, he began to notice heart monitors were being applied to his chest, and that his lip was split from the fall.

“Everyone had this concerned look on their face,” Little said. “I know it must have been scary for them to see that. You never wish to see something like that.”

After a bank of tests and bloodwork, it was determined Little suffered from dehydration. But he says his fainting had something to do with his concussion and coming back too soon from it.

“To rush myself back from the concussion was nobody’s fault but mine,” Little said. “Doctors can only go off my word, so it’s easy for a player to kind of finagle it in a sense to say whatever you need to say.”

Little would never play in the bubble. All his dedicated work and all of his improvement were never realized. It’s why he was so motivated for the start of the 2020-21 season, which was reflected in his body as well as his skill. After playing his rookie season at 232 pounds, he reported to Portland at 228. A chance to once again prove he was ready for a shot at the rotation was waiting.

Then the positive test. And then the brutal days and nights. At the lowest moment of his illness, he said he weighed 210. The lost weight didn’t compare to what he felt was another lost opportunity.

“In this league, the windows of opportunity are so small,” Little said. “You don’t get unlimited chances. This is not a game of equal opportunity.”

So as he fought off the fevers and tried to swallow food, he was also fighting off other demons. What would his teammates think of him? And would he still be able to play this game at a high level?

is he even still in the NBA? prayers sent up

He’s still on Portland