The Trail Blazers are back at training camp Tuesday with a different coach, a familiar face and a whole lot more attention on the basketball side than the noise around it.
That noise has been loud. Tom Dundon and Portland’s new ownership group have spent their first six months running the show with a string of headaches: mass layoffs, slights to two-way players, a revamped television broadcast and public back-and-forth with local politicians over a long-term lease extension and money for a proposed Moda Center renovation. All of it threatened to bury what had already been a strong season on the floor.
And that season deserved better than the shadow it lived under. Portland finished 42-40, grabbed the seventh seed in the Western Conference with a play-in win over the Phoenix Suns and made the playoffs for the first time in five years.
Now the basketball part gets to breathe again. Training camp brings a new set of questions, and this roster has plenty of them.
The biggest feel-good storyline is Damian Lillard’s return. After two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and a season in rehabilitation, the nine-time All-Star is back on the Blazers’ practice court.
For a fan base that knows exactly what Dame Time looks like, that’s the headline they’ve been waiting for. The obvious question is what he has left after surgery to repair his left Achilles tendon.
He’s 36 now, and the shape of his game will matter just as much as the name on the back of the jersey. Even so, the appeal is easy to see: shooting, scoring, late-game poise and the kind of leadership Portland has missed.
Then there’s the other giant swing of the offseason: Ja Morant. Portland brought in a former Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star in what counts as one of the franchise’s biggest moves ever, but this wasn’t a clean fit on paper.
Morant hasn’t made an All-Star team since 2023, has played only 79 games over the last three seasons because of injuries and doesn’t solve the Blazers’ biggest issue, which is shooting. He also lands in a backcourt already packed with talent, with Lillard, Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson all in the mix.
First-year coach Micah Nori has already spoken positively about the addition, saying the Blazers are poised “to get the best version of Ja Morant.” Still, there’s a lot to figure out.
Will Morant run the offense the way he has for most of his career? Does he stay strictly at point guard?
Does he share the ball with Lillard, Holiday and Avdija, or take the lead? Does he start, or does he come off the bench?
And can he stay healthy?
Those questions spill directly into the lineup puzzle. Lillard, Morant, Holiday and Henderson will all need minutes at guard.
Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara are set at forward, while Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III give Portland a strong center pairing. That group of eight looks locked into Nori’s rotation.
The starting five, though, is still very much up for debate. If Lillard is anywhere near his old level, it’s hard to see him coming off the bench.
Avdija, Camara and Clingan are expected to hold onto their starting spots from last season, which leaves one opening and three candidates: Holiday, Morant and Henderson. Holiday gives Portland defense and championship experience.
Morant offers upside and playmaking. Nori’s choice there will be one of the camp’s most closely watched decisions.
Behind that, Nori said in July that he was tentatively planning a 10-man rotation, leaving two more spots available. Sidy Cissoko, who went from two-way player to a key rotation piece last season, is in the mix. So are bigs Branden Carlson and Micah Potter, plus forward Jeremy Sochan.
Avdija is another major piece of the story, even if his role may look different now. Last season, he became one of the league’s more surprising breakout stars when injuries forced him into a point-forward role and he delivered career-best numbers across the board: 24.2 points, 6.7 assists and 125 made three-pointers per game. By season’s end, only Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic joined him in averaging at least 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists.
This season, the context changes. Portland has added Lillard and Morant at point guard, while Holiday and Henderson are healthy.
That gives the Blazers far more ball-handling and creation than they had a year ago, which makes Avdija’s next step a real point of interest. He’s still central to the team’s present and future, but how his game fits alongside all these guards will be worth watching.
At the top of it all is Nori, finally getting his first head coaching job after years as an NBA assistant. Portland is moving on from four difficult rebuilding seasons under Chauncey Billups and one season of uncertainty with Tiago Splitter as interim coach, and Nori’s imprint should show up quickly.
He has already laid out the blueprint: fast, free-flowing “concept basketball” with movement and sharp passing on offense, plus physical defense with “relentless” energy. He also wants the Blazers to clean up the turnovers - they averaged an NBA-high 17.0 per game last season - and play better in clutch situations.
That’s the framework. Camp will start filling in the rest.
In Other News...
Shaedon Sharpes Absence Could Change His Blazers Role For Good
Shaedon Sharpes setback arrives at an awkward moment for a Portland backcourt still sorting out its identity. The Trail Blazers were already headed into a season where guard roles and ballhandling responsibilities were going to matter, and the injury now forces the team to rework that mix without one of its most explosive perimeter options available.
Micah Nori touched on the ripple effect at Media Day, where the conversation centered on how Portland wants to organize its offense and who will carry more of the decision-making load. Sharpes absence opens the door for a different style of guard rotation, and it may also reshape the way the Blazers think about his place once he returns. [Read more 🡒]
Damian Lillards Return Feels Different For The Blazers This Time
Damian Lillards long road back to Portland has reached the point where basketball is finally the focus again. After roughly 16 months of rehab from a torn left Achilles tendon, he showed up for the Blazers media day sounding like a player who has spent enough time away to appreciate the simplest parts of the job, talking about a fresh perspective and a renewed emphasis on enjoying the process.
For Portland, the return comes with obvious intrigue because Lillard is not approaching this like a rushed comeback. He said he feels healthy, and the tone around his return has shifted away from the usual strain that comes with a star trying to get all the way back. Instead, the next phase is about getting into training camp and seeing how his presence fits with a team that has been waiting a long time to have him back on the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Scoot Henderson Enters A Crucial Blazers Camp With Plenty At Stake
Portlands annual media day offered a clear reminder that Scoot Henderson enters this season with a lot more hanging over him than the usual third-year leap. General manager Joe Cronin put it plainly by describing the guard as a high-priority piece for the future, while also underscoring how much uncertainty still surrounds his long-term trajectory as he moves through the final season of his rookie contract.
The Blazers also appear prepared to let the backcourt sort itself out in camp, with head coach Micah Nori stressing flexibility in the guard rotation rather than handing out any guarantees. For Henderson, that means training camp matters, and it may mean competing for heavy minutes in a role that is not automatically carved out for him, even as Portland continues to view him as a central part of what comes next. [Read more 🡒]