The Portland Trail Blazers enter NBA 2K27 with a rating of 83 or higher, putting them among the game’s better teams. That boost makes sense on paper with Ja Morant stepping in as the new point guard, and with former All-Stars Damian Lillard and Deni Avdija on the roster.
Even so, not every individual number feels locked in. Jrue Holiday comes in at an 82 overall, which makes him the team’s fourth-best player. That lines up with his talent, but it may not line up with the role he’s actually going to play.
Holiday is coming off a season where he averaged 16.3 points and 6.1 assists per game, but the expectation is that those numbers come down. His final season with the Boston Celtics in 2024-25 was lower, and the jump last year was tied in part to a much bigger workload. His usage rate climbed from 15.9 to 23.6 with Morant and Lillard on the roster.
That kind of responsibility isn’t likely to stay the same. Holiday’s usage rate is expected to move closer to where it was in Boston, and if that happens, his rating could drift downward once the season is underway.
Even so, 82 feels close enough to fair. If he landed in the 78-80 range, it wouldn’t be a stretch.
Toumani Camara looks like the clearer miss. He’s listed at 80 overall, good for seventh on the Blazers, and that feels light for a player who started all 82 games last season. Camara shot 37 percent from 3-point range and was Portland’s best perimeter defender.
He’s expected to keep that same job this season as he enters his fourth year in the NBA. His role matters, and the rating doesn’t quite capture that. Camara still has room to sharpen his game, but at 26 years old, the upside is there.
There’s also a real chance the number moves as the season goes on. If Camara keeps trending the way he has, the roster updates could push him up a couple points, and by the end of the year he could be sitting at 82 or 83 overall.
In Other News...
Blazers Suddenly Have A Shaedon Sharpe Problem They Can't Ignore
Shaedon Sharpes summer took a sharp turn when an offseason workout ended with a torn meniscus, a setback that could keep the Portland guard sidelined for at least six months. For a Blazers team trying to build a more stable offense, the timing is brutal. Sharpe had been part of the group expected to add burst, scoring and some needed flexibility in the backcourt, where the rotation already leans heavily on Damian Lillard, Ja Morant and Scoot Henderson.
The bigger issue is not just losing a young scorer, but losing one of the few players who could help ease the pressure on Portlands halfcourt creation. The Blazers have already had to account for Jerami Grant being out, and that leaves even less shot-making and size to patch together behind the starters. It is the kind of injury that can quietly reshape a season before it even starts, and Portland now has to find answers without the kind of wing help it was counting on. [Read more 🡒]
Adam Silvers Next Test Could Put Blazers Fans On Edge
Adam Silvers recent hammer on the Clippers showed how far the NBA commissioner is willing to go when he believes a team has crossed a line, and that matters well beyond Los Angeles. For Portland fans, it also serves as a reminder that Silver has both the authority and the appetite to get involved when ownership issues spill into the bigger business of the league, especially with the Trail Blazers still working through their next arena step under new owner Tom Dundon.
The real question in Portland is whether Silver will have to use that same leverage to push the process forward if the negotiations keep lagging. The arena discussion and long-term lease remain central to the franchises future, and there is still a lot at stake for Dundon, who entered the picture with the expectation of a much smoother path than the one the city and team are now staring at. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Buy Low Debate Just Got More Complicated
Ben Simmons is heading back to the NBA, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings after sitting out the 2025-26 season. The move brings an end to a quiet stretch for the former All-Star and closes the loop on a player whose next landing spot had become a talking point around the league, with the Knicks, Warriors and Timberwolves all reportedly showing interest along the way.
For Portland, the development matters mostly as a reminder of how much risk still comes attached to any buy-low swing on a talent like Simmons. The Blazers have been part of the broader conversation about where his versatility might fit, but they were not among the teams in the reported mix, leaving the real question centered on how much appetite there is elsewhere for a player whose upside is obvious and whose availability has been far less certain. [Read more 🡒]