The first-round pick of the Portland Trail Blazers, Nassir Little, is set to join the Miami Heat. It comes at an interesting time, given Miami is just a week removed from its media day and the start of the training camp. But more importantly, many have expressed concerns over his fit with the team. However, Damian Lillard has complete confidence in his ex-teammate.

Prior to being traded to the Phoenix Suns last season as part of the Lillard trade, Little spent his four seasons by Dame’s side. So, there’s no doubt that the man knows what he is talking about. Taking to Instagram, the Bucks superstar wrote, “He has it in him… you heard it here first,” re-sharing the post by HeatNationCP. 

After a relatively quiet season in the Valley, Phoenix waived the 24-year-old, making him a free agent. The depth of talent in the free agency this year ended up being a bane for Nassir. However, many teams had worked Nassir out earlier in the month. And here he is, looking for a fresh start in the South Beach.

As Little took the 15th spot in Miami, discussion abounds as to how the signing makes sense. This is regardless of the fact that the franchise is known for taking developing players and molding them into valuable rotation players. As such, the team has now got a versatile defensive wing who stands at 6’6 with a ridiculous 7’2 wingspan!

With the loss of defensive stalwarts Delon Wright and Caleb Martin, the Heat has been in a bind. And to keep somewhat of stability, the front office re-signed Haywood Highsmith to keep the ball rolling, in a manner of speaking. But the true challenge here would be the health of the team.

Injuries have caused Miami to not rely on a set plan through the course of the season. But one man’s loss is another man’s gain. When those injuries start to increase, Coach Spoelstra finds himself turning to the younger (and very willing) candidates. And here’s where Nassir Little can make his case. Well, anyway, he has a whole season to prove that Miami’s decision was right.

As for Lillard, he has no second thoughts about his teammate of four years, as we saw above. However, this might have made him reminisce about his lost chance for a career in Miami.

Damian Lillard had ‘serious interest’ in taking his talents to the South Beach

Portland will always remain Dame’s home. The man spent the better part of his NBA career with the Blazers. Not to mention the emotional attachment to Portland. The veteran guard’s kids go to school there, his friends and family are settled there, and we don’t even need to get into the fanbase the man has. However, the 8x All-Star reached a point in his journey where he wanted to compete for a championship.

So unless the team could provide that, he was looking to move on. Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that in such a scenario, Damian Lillard had “serious interest” in a move to the Heat. Amick further noted that one of the reasons for the move was because he would love to team up with Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.

Additionally, the famed Heat Culture was truly enticing. Playing under the legendary ‘Godfather’ and Coach Spo were also aspects that factored into his interest in Miami. But Milwaukee won the race. And now Damian Lillard is competing for his very first title with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Anyway, Dame has already made his prediction about Nassir Little. What do you have to say about Miami’s under-the-radar move? Let us know in the comments.