'Part of the business': Phoenix Suns wing Nassir Little addresses trade speculation
ATLANTA — Phoenix Suns wing Nassir Little’s name has been mentioned in trade talks heading into the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
No worries.
“I’m doing good,” Little said after an optional shootaround before Wednesday’s win in Brooklyn.
“It’s a normal thing in the league. It’s been like that since I’ve gotten into the league. Your name is always going to be thrown around in trade rumors. It’s part of the business. So I don’t really be seeing it that much, but I just chill until something happens. I get a text from my agent or somebody call me in the office, I’m going to keep doing what I got to do.”
The Suns (28-20) are $21 million over the luxury tax, have a projected $50 million tax and lost many of their draft picks when acquiring Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in blockbuster trades.
Grayson Allen is widely considered their top trade asset considering his expiring contract, but he’s started every game he’s played (42), is leading the NBA in 3-point shooting and having a career year.
The next player on that list is Little, an athletic wing who can play multiple positions. He is in the first year of a four-year, $28 million contract that can easily mesh in a trade. The Suns could package him with a couple of second round picks in a deal.
Little has had little playing time of late as he had been dealing with knee tendinitis. He’s averaging 4.5 points in 28 games (two starts).
“It’s always tough,” Little said. “You just want to be able to go out there and contribute. That’s what we work hard for, to be able to go into games and do what we’re supposed to do.”
Little continued by talking about the work the players who are hardly playing right now put in, realizing they must be ready when their name is called.
“We get a lot of extra workouts in,” Little said. “We’re doing our scrimmages, we’re doing our extra lifts. You probably don’t get flowers for that.”
Little then gave a shoutout to all the “stay ready” Suns players like Saban Lee, Chimezie Metu, Yuta Watanabe, Udoka Azubuike and Theo Maledon.
“We’re working hard,” Little continued. “It’s tough not to get those opportunities in the game, but we’ve just got to trust the process and just wait for your time to come back.”
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism. Start your online subscription
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns wing Nassir Little addresses being in trade talks
