The Portland Trail Blazers have finally found their guy in Deni Avdija, and that puts the front office on the clock.
Avdija’s rise has been fast enough to make the trade for him look like a steal for general manager Joe Cronin. In just two short seasons with Portland, he’s gone from buy-low pickup to the clear face of the rebuild, and the next step should have been obvious: put the right pieces around him and let the offense grow from there.
The numbers tell part of the story. Avdija led the league in drives per game this past season, while Portland finished bottom three in three-point percentage. That kind of mix makes the challenge plain - if Avdija is going to keep ascending as a point-forward, the Blazers need to build a cleaner fit around him.
Instead, the offseason has left a tricky question hanging over the roster: where does Ja Morant fit, if he fits at all?
On paper, Morant gives Portland more star power and a cheaper path toward narrowing the gap with teams like the Spurs, OKC Thunder, and other Western contenders. In practice, the fit gets messy fast. Morant and Avdija are both at their best when they’re attacking downhill and setting the table, and that overlap can create diminishing returns.
Avdija can open the floor for Morant’s drives, but the Blazers are also at their best when Avdija has the ball and can steer the offense himself. That tension could force head coach Micah Nori into a difficult call, even to the point of deciding Morant works best in a sixth-man role in Portland.
If that’s the route, the team could stagger their minutes and keep each player in a lead role when the other sits. It would also help avoid a defensive backcourt mess if Morant were paired with Damian Lillard.
Nori’s first season on the job already comes with a roster puzzle Cronin left behind, and the biggest piece in it is obvious. Portland has to keep Avdija at the center of everything - the offense, the rotations, the long-term plan.
The Blazers finally have their first All-Star since Lillard. Now they have to make sure the rest of the roster doesn’t get in his way.
In Other News...
Blazers Face One Huge Offensive Question With Dame And Ja
The Trail Blazers are staring at a fascinating offensive puzzle as they prepare for a 2026-27 rotation that could feature Damian Lillard, Ja Morant and Deni Avdija all at once. Any team would welcome that kind of talent, but Portlands challenge is making sure the ball is shared in a way that keeps all three productive, especially with new head coach Micah Nori stepping in to shape the system. Add in the clubs need to get better from long range, and this is about more than just stacking scorers on the same roster.
Lillards return from injury only adds another layer to the conversation, because the Blazers are not simply waiting on health, they are trying to figure out what their offense should look like when he is back in the mix. Morant brings his own high-usage style, Avdija has shown he can handle meaningful creation duties, and Portland has to find a balance that lets each of them do damage without crowding the same spaces on the floor. The answer to that question may end up shaping how far this group can go. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Face One Big Test If They Want More Than The Play In
Portlands offseason has already changed the look and feel of the franchise, with a new coach in Micah Nori and a fresh star addition in Ja Morant giving the Trail Blazers a very different starting point heading into the 2026-27 season. After making the postseason in their last run, the pressure now is less about simply getting back there and more about proving the roster can do more than hang around the play-in conversation in a crowded Western Conference.
Micah Nori will be taking on his first NBA head coaching job with a team trying to find the right balance between urgency and patience, and that alone makes Portland one of the more interesting watchlist teams in the league. The bigger question is whether the new pieces can mesh quickly enough to lift the Blazers beyond the middle tier, or whether the same conference realities will keep them fighting for a lower seed again. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Have A Roster Problem That Could Create Real Matchup Trouble
The Portland Trail Blazers are shaping their 2026-27 roster with an unusual problem: too many point guards and centers, and not nearly enough true power forwards or wings. It is the kind of imbalance that can look manageable on paper until the schedule turns physical, when lineups built around Deni Avdija and a handful of makeshift options have to stand up to bigger, more versatile frontcourts.
Jeremy Sochan is one of the players the Blazers could lean on in that spot, but his fit is not settled enough to count on. If Portland wants to avoid getting outmuscled by teams with more size, the front office may have to keep looking for a cleaner answer, and a player such as Jarred Vanderbilt has already been mentioned as the sort of trade target that could help stabilize the position. [Read more 🡒]