The Portland Trail Blazers are heading into training camp with plenty still unsettled, but one thing is already clear: this season is going to be about figuring out how the pieces fit for 2026-27 and beyond.
The storyline worth buying is the Damian Lillard homecoming. For the skeptics, it can look like a sentimental swing at the past, a bid to chase old memories instead of building something new.
But there’s a real basketball case here. Portland has a chance to use Lillard as a meaningful part of a roster that could be pushing to contend in the playoffs in 2027.
Lillard is back in a role that carries both nostalgia and purpose. He can be viewed as a veteran mentor returning to the place where his career took off, especially after the team that sent a haul of assets to get him in a blockbuster deal no longer wanted him.
But the Blazers also have reason to believe he can do more than just fill a ceremonial spot. They ended a five-year playoff drought last season without him ever playing a game, and that gives Portland a base to build on rather than a blank slate.
There’s also still plenty of shot-making left in his game. Lillard won the Three Point Contest at the All-Star break, and one of his recent workouts went viral on social media, a reminder of how dangerous his jumper remains even after more than a year away because of injury. He’s going to matter a lot for Portland this season, and while the reunion will bring some throwback vibes, the Blazers won’t treat it like a pure nostalgia act.
The storyline I’m less sold on is the idea that Deni Avdija is getting squeezed out by the arrival of Ja Morant. A lot of people looked at the offseason move and saw trouble for Avdija, since Morant brings a lot of the same downhill pressure that defined Avdija’s role last season. Both players want to get into the lane and create offense off the dribble, but that overlap doesn’t automatically make the pairing awkward.
Avdija’s value is in how many different ways he can be used. He’s the kind of player who can blend into different lineups and adjust to whatever is asked of him, which has been true throughout his career. Last season, Portland asked him to take on more of a creator’s load, and he answered by making his first All-Star team.
That’s why the Blazers shouldn’t waste his age-25 season by pushing him into a secondary or tertiary lane behind Morant and Lillard. The better path is to lean into the fact that Portland now has multiple former All-Stars who can share the ball and pressure defenses in different ways. In today’s league, teams need more than one creator, and the Blazers should be able to unlock something useful by letting all three do what they do best.
In Other News...
Blazers Playoff Hopes Come Down To One Uncomfortable Reality
The Trail Blazers did enough over the regular season and Play-In Tournament to reach the 2025-26 NBA Playoffs as the Wests No. 7 seed, a step forward that should have signaled real staying power. Instead, the conversation around Portland has quickly shifted to whether that breakthrough is built to last, especially with questions lingering about ownership direction, coaching stability and how well the roster actually fits together.
One anonymous NBA scout put the unease in blunt terms, framing Portland as a team he expects to slide back out of the playoff mix. At the center of it all is an awkward balancing act: whether Ja Morant and Damian Lillard can stay healthy and find a way to coexist while Deni Avdija remains the clubs primary offensive engine. If that combination does not settle quickly, the Blazers could discover how thin the margin is between a feel-good spring and a much harsher reality. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Move On From Keon Johnson And Raise An Immediate Question
Keon Johnsons latest stop ended almost as quickly as it began, with Atlanta waiving the former first-round pick shortly after bringing him in on an Exhibit 10 deal. The move leaves Johnson back on the market, and it also puts a few teams on alert as the veteran-free-agency shuffle keeps rolling late in the calendar.
Among the possibilities being floated are Denver, Chicago and Portland, with the Trail Blazers included because of their guard situation and the broader way their roster has been taking shape. Portland also recently moved on from guards Mark Sears and Barry Dunning, which only adds to the sense that there could be room for another look, even if nothing has been decided yet. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremy Sochan Puts Blazers Camp Battle In Sharp Focus
Jeremy Sochan arrives in Portland with the kind of profile that usually gets a closer look in training camp: young enough to develop, experienced enough to matter, and versatile enough to fit a roster that can always use another defender. The 23-year-old forward is entering his fifth NBA season after signing a one-year, non-guaranteed contract, and the Trail Blazers are clearly viewing him as a possible answer behind the main rotation rather than a finished product.
What makes Sochan intriguing is the same thing that makes his path uneasy. Portland likes the defensive flexibility he can bring by guarding multiple positions, but the offensive side of his game remains a limitation, which puts real weight on how he looks in camp and how he fits into the depth picture. For a team sorting through its backup forward options, his presence adds another layer to a competition that could come down to who can do the most without needing the ball. [Read more 🡒]