3 underrated wings the Trail Blazers can trade for as a gift to the fans

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Despite Nassir Little’s emergence, the Portland Trail Blazers should still trade for an additional wing

The Portland Trail Blazers have been tinkering with their roster internally throughout the season. Head Coach Chauncey Billups has been throwing a multitude of combinations at the wall in attempts to find some that will stick; through 32 games, the Blazers have already played 179 different five-man lineups. The most looming issue for coach to solve is the team’s lack of options at the wings.

Billups’s latest iteration of the starting lineup features Damian Lillard and Norman Powell in the backcourt, Robert Covington and Jusuf Nurkic holding down the big positions, and Nassir Little featured as the starting small forward. While fans were understandably excited to see the young wing out of North Carolina get more opportunity, sliding Little into the starting lineup left the Trail Blazers without a reliable backup wing.

Norman Powell, Nassir Little, Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images) /

Nas has shown signs that he could soon be the 3-and-D plus that Portland’s been waiting for at the three spot, but so far, he’s been a little underwhelming as a starter. He’s started eight games in the 2021-2022 NBA season, in which he’s averaged 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 51 percent from the field and just 27 from deep, according to statmuse.

Comparatively, in the games he’s come off the bench as an energizer, Little’s put up 8.2 points and 5.4 boards while hitting 46 percent of his attempts, including 31 percent of his deep takes.

Despite the uptick in minutes, Little has seemingly regressed when opening with the other starters. While I’m certainly not ready to give up on Nas as a full-time starter, it’s clear that the Trail Blazers need at least a reliable option to come off the pine behind him. Having Little as the only small forward on the roster isn’t doing him any favors — and it’s certainly not helping the team either.

Here are three underrated wings the Trail Blazers should trade for to shore up their depth at the forward positions: