The Portland Trail Blazers have been tied to plenty of offseason chatter, but one DeMar DeRozan rumor appears to be off the table.
Marc Stein of The Stein Line pushed back on the idea that Portland is actively chasing the veteran wing. “Portland is not currently pursuing free agent swingman DeMar DeRozan, league sources say, despite reports to the contrary,” Stein wrote on his Substack.
That clarification matters because DeRozan has been one of the biggest names still floating around free agency. The six-time All-Star asked the Sacramento Kings to release him after two seasons, and Sacramento did exactly that on July 6. Since then, he’s been connected to the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, and Washington Wizards.
DeRozan is 36 and still searching for his first championship, so the next stop has to make sense for a player who wants a real shot at a title. Portland may have plenty of talent, but the fit is tricky. The Blazers already have a crowded backcourt and a roster built around Damian Lillard, Ja Morant, Jrue Holiday, and Deni Avdija, with Shaedon Sharpe, Donovan Clingan, Toumani Camara, and Scoot Henderson also in the mix.
Adding DeRozan to that group would only tighten the lane for touches and shots, especially with Lillard, Morant, Avdija, and Sharpe already in the fold.
On the court last season, DeRozan put up 18.4 points, his lowest scoring average since his fourth season, along with 2.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.0 steals across 77 games. It was the fifth straight season in which he played at least 74 games, a clear sign he’s still bringing dependable availability even as the market sorts itself out.
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Hendersons future is now part of that larger conversation, with the Blazers having to decide how committed they want to be to him as they map out the next phase of the rebuild. Portland can keep kicking the question down the road, but the longer the logjam lingers, the harder it becomes to tell where Henderson stands in the long-term plan. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Arena Fight Just Put Portlands Long Term Plans In Doubt
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The next steps are still murky, even with local government bodies inching toward decisions of their own. Multnomah County commissioners are also expected to weigh in on a resolution tied to the projects financing commitment, but the Trail Blazers have not given much detail about what the renovation would actually include, leaving the scope of the plan and the teams posture toward it hanging over the process. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Suddenly Face A Ja Morant Question They Cant Ignore
Portlands front office is already deep into a balancing act, with Jrue Holiday and Ja Morant now sitting at the center of the conversation. The Blazers are evaluating what each would mean for the roster they are trying to build, and the question is not just about talent, but about fit, age, and how each player would complement a young core that still needs structure around it.
The financial side makes the issue even harder to ignore, especially with the need to create room for an extension for All-Star Deni Avdija. Holidays steadiness is easier to plug into a developing team, while Morant brings a different kind of ceiling and a different kind of decision. Portland does not seem likely to be able to keep both paths open for long, which is what makes this such a delicate call. [Read more 🡒]