The Portland Trail Blazers have spent the offseason looking like one of the league’s most unpredictable teams, but their most important move didn’t come from the outside at all. It was Damian Lillard coming back.
Portland’s roster has already been shaken up in a major way. The Blazers brought in Ja Morant, Branden Carlson and Micah Potter, while Jerami Grant, Kris Murray and Caleb Love are out. They also locked up Robert Williams III on a three-year deal, with Matisse Thybulle and Blake Wesley still unresolved in free agency.
Even with all that movement, Lillard is still the name that changes everything.
At 35, expecting him to be exactly the same player he was before the Achilles injury is probably asking too much. But the first time he walks back into the Moda Center in a Blazers uniform, the reaction is going to tell you plenty about what he means here.
This is bigger than nostalgia. Portland already knows what he’s meant to the franchise, and now it gets him back at a time when the team clearly still needs him.
That was on display last season. The Blazers made the playoffs and then were quickly bounced by the San Antonio Spurs, a reminder that the roster had reached a ceiling without a player like Lillard.
Portland still managed to win 42 games, but the offense had real trouble in two areas that matter a lot: turnovers and three-point shooting. The Blazers finished last in turnovers and 28th in three-point efficiency, and those are the kinds of problems Lillard can help fix right away.
The fit isn’t just about what he adds. It’s also about what the rest of the roster can do around him. Portland has defensive pieces in Toumani Camara, Jrue Holiday, Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams III and Sidy Cissoko, and that group should help cover for some of the limitations that have followed Lillard over the years.
Micah Nori, the new head coach, now has to sort through the rotation and figure out the best starting lineup combinations. But that’s a good problem to have. The Ja Morant deal created a crowded backcourt, yet Portland is willing to head into the 2026-27 season with four point guards because of the possibilities it opens up.
The frontcourt is where the Blazers see their real foundation, with Camara, Clingan and Deni Avdija serving as the core pieces. If the backcourt can keep pace, Portland has a chance to become the kind of playoff team nobody wants to run into.
Morant gives the Blazers another swing at finding the star power that can lift them higher. Lillard gives them the one thing they’ve been missing most: a proven offensive engine who can still change the shape of a game. Even if he’s only 80-90 percent of what he once was, that’s still a major boost for a team that needed help in a hurry.
So while the offseason has been full of noise, the biggest addition was the one Portland already had waiting in the wings. And it probably won’t fully hit home until the season opener, when the city gets its first real look at Lillard back on the floor and remembers just how much this team still needs him.
In Other News...
Another Bucks Misstep Has The Damian Lillard Trade Looking Better
Milwaukees latest roster move is the kind of decision that can ripple far beyond the Bucks locker room, and Portland has a direct reason to keep an eye on it. Gary Trent Jr. landed a four-year deal worth $64 million, a price tag that only adds to the sense that Milwaukee is paying premium money for a player whose recent production does not quite match the contract.
For the Trail Blazers, the bigger issue is what all this means for the future. Portland still has a claim on Milwaukees draft capital from 2028 through 2030 from the Damian Lillard trade, and every questionable Bucks move can make those picks more interesting. With Lillard still on Milwaukees books through the waive-and-stretch and other costly roster decisions piling up, the Bucks are giving Portland reason to watch the long game closely. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Just Made Another Tough Depth Call After Nance Move
The Trail Blazers have added another frontcourt piece, claiming Micah Potter off waivers after his run with Indiana. Potter is a five-year NBA veteran who just put together the best statistical season of his career, giving the Pacers a useful stretch of production with 9.7 points and five rebounds per game while showing enough shooting touch to keep defenses honest.
Portland is betting on that offensive fit, especially for a big who can space the floor and work in pick-and-pop situations. The question, as it has been for Potter in previous stops, is how much value he can provide when opponents start hunting him on the other end and forcing the kind of defensive rotations that test a teams depth in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Offseason Shakeup Just Put Their Young Core On Notice
Portland spent the offseason remaking its backcourt and, in the process, put several young players on a shorter leash. The reshuffle has left one roster spot still open and raised fresh questions about frontcourt depth after Jerami Grants departure, but it also clarifies where some of the minutes are likely to go as the Blazers lean into a faster, more aggressive style.
Donovan Clingan looks positioned to be one of the early beneficiaries, with more chances for easy buckets and lob finishes in a system built to get him involved. Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, meanwhile, are the names to watch on the other side of the ledger, since the new lineup and recent additions could squeeze their roles and push Henderson toward a reduced workload that may even send him to the bench. [Read more 🡒]