The Portland Trail Blazers reached the playoffs in 2025-26 as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, but the case for a quick exit is already out there.
Portland finished the regular season with 42 wins, which was just enough to get into the Play-In Tournament. From there, the Blazers beat the Phoenix Suns in their first game and moved from No. 8 to No.
- Even with that result, one anonymous NBA scout doesn’t sound convinced the stay will last.
“I don’t like how things look in Portland,” an anonymous NBA scout told Sports Illustrated's Blake Silverman.
“Bad ownership, a coach with a bad contract and bad players together. Bad fits.
Everything in Portland is a bad fit right now, top to bottom. They have got some guys.
I like Toumani Camara. I like Shaedon Sharpe, when he is healthy.
But if you are asking me which team falls out of the playoffs, they are at the top of the list.”
The Blazers’ new ownership group, led by Tom Dundon, has already drawn criticism this offseason, especially over the way negotiations for a new arena have been handled. Portland has also looked for chances to trim costs, and according to the source material, they’ve taken almost every one that’s come along. That has not gone over well with the fan base, and the result is a cloud hanging over the franchise.
There’s also the basketball fit itself. The biggest question centers on whether Ja Morant and Damian Lillard can share the floor effectively and look like the players they once were. Both have been All-Stars, but health has been a problem for each over the last couple of years, and that could become a real issue for Portland as the season plays out.
Deni Avdija is expected to carry a heavy load as the Blazers’ main offensive option, largely because he’s the most dependable piece in the mix. His performance last season was a major reason Portland got back to being a playoff team, and the Blazers will need that level to stick.
At the same time, Morant and Lillard are at their best with the ball in their hands. That leaves Portland with a real challenge: figuring out how to manage the point guard rotation while still getting the most out of Avdija.
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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 🡒]
Damian Lillard And Ja Morant Put Blazers Fans On Edge
The Trail Blazers have spent years trying to rebuild around a clean identity, and now the roster picture has taken a sharp turn with Ja Morant arriving from Memphis and Damian Lillard set to return for the 2026-27 season. On paper, it is the kind of backcourt pairing that can make a franchise feel far more relevant overnight, blending star power, shot creation and the sort of attention that changes the way opponents game-plan from night to night.
For Portland, the excitement comes with the usual questions that follow a bold move like this. Can two high-usage guards find a rhythm together, and how quickly can the staff settle on a structure that keeps both comfortable? Former Blazers coach P.J. Carlesimo sounded confident the blend can work, while first-year coach Micah Nori inherits the task of making the fit make sense in real games, including the decision on whether Lillard and Morant should start side by side. [Read more 🡒]