ESPN’s latest top-100 player rankings offered a pretty clear snapshot of where the Portland Trail Blazers stand: they’ve got plenty of bodies, plenty of talent, and still not quite enough at the very top.
Portland landed five players in ESPN’s rankings heading into the 2026-27 season, a number that speaks to the team’s depth after bringing in Ja Morant and Damian Lillard for the backcourt. The list also underscored just how much skill the roster now carries, even if two-way wing Toumani Camara was left out despite what looks like a snub.
But the bigger takeaway is harder for Portland to ignore. The Blazers may be deep, yet they still don’t look top-heavy enough.
ESPN placed Deni Avdija at No. 27, a spot that feels a little low after his first All-Star season. The problem for Portland is what comes next.
Lillard checks in at No. 69, and that gap tells the story. Avdija is clearly the team’s best player, but the next name on the list is a long way behind him.
There’s obvious excitement around Lillard’s return to Portland, and there’s still reason to believe his work ethic and rehab approach could lead to a bounce-back. Even so, the Blazers can’t build their hopes around that outcome. He’s better suited as the veteran presence who helps fix spacing and turnover issues from last season, not as the player who has to carry the weight of a title push.
That’s the central issue here: Portland still needs a real co-star for Avdija.
Avdija isn’t built to be a 1A superstar who can drag a team through a playoff series by himself. The Blazers have to compensate for that by finding another high-end piece next to him, the way the Boston Celtics paired Jayson Tatum with Jaylen Brown on the way to the 2024 championship. ESPN has Tatum at No. 9 heading into his injury-free season, a reminder of how much help elite stars usually need.
Portland already got a taste of what happens when the support around Avdija isn’t enough. In their first-round playoff exit against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, the Spurs’ defense - anchored by the first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year - made Avdija’s downhill game much harder to unleash. Without reliable shooting or playmaking beside him, the Blazers’ offense bogged down too often.
Maybe that changes this season if Lillard or Morant can fill the void. That’s the hope behind bringing in both players, banking on at least one of those former stars finding something close to his old level and helping close the talent gap. But relying on a 36-year-old Lillard coming off a brutal Achilles tear, or on an injury-prone Morant who hasn’t looked like his All-Star self in a while, is a risky way to build around your best player.
In Other News...
Jrue Holiday Suddenly Faces A Blazers Role With Major Stakes
The Trail Blazers new-look rotation is already taking shape under Micah Nori, and Jrue Holiday looks set to be one of the more important pieces in it. Portland brought in plenty of competition for minutes, but the veteran guard remains in the mix because of the kind of two-way steadiness the roster still needs. In a lineup full of questions, Holiday gives the Blazers a player who can cover holes, steady possessions and handle the defensive load that younger options cannot always shoulder.
Holidays place matters even more now because Portland has had to adjust its wing picture, which opens the door to a different kind of role for him. Rather than fitting neatly into a standard guard spot, he could be asked to bring value in a more flexible alignment, one that tests how much of the Blazers offense and defense can be organized around adaptability. For a team sorting out who belongs where, that makes Holidays usage one of the more consequential decisions in camp. [Read more 🡒]
Toumani Camara Feels Too Important To Ignore In Portland Right Now
ESPNs 2026 NBA rankings put five Trail Blazers inside the top 100, which is a decent snapshot of where Portland stands as it tries to build around a reshaped core. Donovan Clingan, Jrue Holiday, Ja Morant, Damian Lillard and Deni Avdija all got their place in the national hierarchy, and the list also underscored the range of strengths and concerns around the roster as the Blazers keep trying to sort out who fits where.
But the bigger takeaway for Portland might be the player who did not make the cut. Toumani Camara keeps showing up as the kind of wing every team needs, the sort of defender and connective piece who makes lineups work because he can be trusted in so many spots. The omission only sharpens the question of how much value the Blazers are getting from him right now, because his impact has become hard to ignore even if the rankings say otherwise. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Rotation Squeeze Is Putting Several Familiar Names On Notice
A crowded roster has put Portland in the middle of an uncomfortable but familiar conversation: who actually has a path to minutes once the 2026-27 season arrives? The Trail Blazers have remade the backcourt and added more bodies on the wing, with Damian Lillard and Ja Morant joining a group that already includes returning pieces and incoming draft picks, while Shaedon Sharpe is not part of the picture. In that kind of setup, the margins get thin fast, and even players who looked like steady rotation options can find themselves fighting for every possession.
Keegan Murray and Luke Travers are among the names working through that squeeze, and the staff is sorting out how to balance guard and forward depth without leaving useful players stranded. Portland is also weighing how to fit the newer additions into the mix alongside the veterans, which means the competition is not just about talent but about fit, size, and how many different lineup combinations can realistically survive the regular season grind. [Read more 🡒]