The Portland Trail Blazers may not have taken the swing some fans expected, but their smartest move this offseason might have been the one they never made.
Instead of cashing in the Milwaukee Bucks picks they got in the Damian Lillard deal, Portland held firm. That matters, because those picks only grew more valuable over the summer as the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade saga played out and South Beach finally landed the superstar it had been chasing.
That leaves the Blazers in a familiar place: still not quite pushed into the upper tier of the Western Conference, and still probably staring at a season where a play-in chase is the realistic target. Going star hunting and ending up with Ja Morant, a polarizing guard who is a poor fit for this roster, looks more like a lateral move than a leap forward.
But from a bigger-picture standpoint, Portland avoided the mistake that could have done real damage to its long-term plan. GM Joe Cronin had to weigh the danger of giving up those increasingly valuable draft assets for a player who might not have been enough to make the team a true contender. For a small-to-mid market like Portland, there was also the risk of ending up with a short-term rental or a disgruntled star who never fully wanted to be there.
That’s part of why the Jrue Holiday trade has been so important in these conversations. The Blazers got a player of his caliber who has embraced his new team, city, and role, and that kind of buy-in matters in deals like this. Portland can’t afford to make aggressive moves for stars unless the fit is right on more than just talent.
The Morant deal comes with a different level of risk, mostly because the price was so low. And if he is already buying into the change of scenery, that only adds to the upside. Anything Portland gets from his arrival is a bonus, because the franchise kept the Bucks picks and kept its rebuild on schedule.
That asset haul is still strong enough to keep the Blazers in a good place leaguewide. Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey recently ranked every team by current trade assets and put Portland at No. 9, pointing to those Bucks picks as the key reason the team landed inside the top ten. As Bailey put it, it’s "what really boosts their stash."
Even with the NBA’s lottery odds changing at the wrong time for Portland, those picks still look like some of the most valuable in the league. It’s not often a team bets against another franchise’s future, only to watch that team trade away its superstar and move into a rebuild without even needing its own picks as the spark.
Portland wasn’t about to give that up for a star who didn’t fit cleanly. In the end, it kept the prize assets and still found a cheaper way to add talent.
In Other News...
Micah Nori Walks Into Immediate Pressure With The Blazers
Micah Nori is stepping into one of the more demanding jobs on the Portland bench with almost no easing-in period. He inherits a playoff team that has talent but still looks uneven around the edges, and the expectation is clear from day one: make the roster fit, make it function, and do it fast in a Western Conference that leaves little room for drift.
Noris arrival has also brought scrutiny beyond the usual coaching pressure, with the terms of his new deal becoming part of the conversation around the hire. Portland wanted a steady hand to maximize a group that needs structure and clarity, but the way the contract is set up has already raised eyebrows across the league, adding another layer of tension before he even gets to settle into the job. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Roster Crunch Just Put Pressure On Two Young Guards
The Trail Blazers offseason overhaul has left the roster looking crowded in some spots and thin in others, with the backcourt now packed around Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday and Ja Morant. That kind of talent collection usually sounds like a good problem to have, but it also changes the math for younger players trying to secure real minutes, especially when the team is trying to sort out its best long-term shape.
Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe both find themselves squeezed lower on the depth chart than they were before, which puts added pressure on two of Portlands most important developmental pieces. There is also a ripple effect in the frontcourt, where the Blazers have enough centers to create another numbers issue and a wing depth shortage could open a door for Sidy Cissoko, leaving the roster in a state where opportunity may be determined as much by fit as by upside. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Just Sent A Clear Message About Jrue Holiday
Rumors can travel fast in the offseason, but Portlands stance on Jrue Holiday appears to have been pretty firm all along. According to The Stein Line, the Trail Blazers are not looking to buy out the veteran guard, a sign that they still view him as more than just a name on the roster. Holidays value goes beyond what he does on the floor, since his experience and contract structure give Portland a piece it can actually use.
For a team trying to keep its options open, that matters. The Blazers have treated Holiday as an insurance policy for other key players, while also seeing his deal as the kind of asset that can preserve flexibility down the line. In other words, Portland is not in a hurry to give away a useful contract, and that leaves the door open for a future move that could shape the roster in a much bigger way. [Read more 🡒]