The Trail Blazers are heading into 2026-27 with a backcourt that will demand answers fast. Damian Lillard is expected back, Ja Morant is in after the surprising trade from Memphis, and Portland is rolling the dice on whether two undersized, offense-first guards can share the floor without the whole thing wobbling.
That decision may end up in the hands of first-year coach Micah Nori, who will have to sort out whether they start together or simply spend plenty of minutes side by side. Either way, the Blazers are clearly willing to find out if the talent outweighs the fit concerns.
Former Portland coach P.J. Carlesimo thinks it can work. In a recent exclusive interview with NEXTPredict’s Kyle Odegard, he made that much plain.
“I don't think there's any question,” he said.
Carlesimo’s belief starts with Lillard, whom he sees as the kind of veteran who can smooth over the rough edges. He pointed to Dame’s intelligence, his unselfishness, and his willingness to adjust for the good of the group.
“Not that Ja is not capable of adjusting, but Dame is such a smart player. Dame will figure it out.
Dame will do whatever it takes for the two of them to excel. And Dame will go out of his way to make sure Ja gets back to being Ja,” Carlesimo continued.
“Dame’s game is so good and he’s so smart. He will do whatever he needs to do to still be Dame, and yet at the same time, there’s no bad ego there with Dame.
He will make sure things work out for Ja.”
That’s the bet Portland is making with Morant, too. He’s arriving in a crowded backcourt, but the change of scenery could be exactly what gets him moving in the right direction again. Carlesimo didn’t shy away from how high Morant’s ceiling once looked.
“Some people forget, face of the league is what people were saying at that point. Not a good player, a spectacular player.
You loved to watch him play. I just hope he gets back to what he was, or even close, and plays the way Ja Morant can play.”
There’s also the bigger picture in Portland. This young team just made the postseason and now has two former All-Stars in Lillard and Morant. On paper, it’s a serious talent infusion for a roster that has been searching for answers in the backcourt.
The fit isn’t seamless, and nobody’s pretending otherwise. Morant and Lillard both come with defensive concerns, while Portland still has to manage shooting issues and the possibility that Morant’s downhill, ball-dominant style could affect Deni Avdija’s growth. Those are real questions.
But the Blazers do have some cover. Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, and Donovan Clingan give the frontcourt a sturdier defensive spine, and Jrue Holiday remains one of the league’s premier perimeter defenders even at 36 and with his athleticism fading.
Carlesimo also made a point to back Nori, calling him a close friend and someone who can handle the job if given the pieces to work with.
“Micah Nori is a really close friend," Carlesimo said. " We worked together in Toronto for a year.
He’s going to do a great job. If they give him the wherewithal, he’s going to surprise people.
I’m sure there are a lot of people who aren’t aware how good of a coach he is.”
Portland’s front office clearly saw Morant as a calculated gamble, especially given how cheap he was to acquire from Memphis. The hope is simple: let the talent win out over the fit concerns.
That matters even more with the Blazers trying to bridge two timelines at once. Holiday and Lillard can still produce, but the team also has to think about the younger core, and that part of the plan has gotten messy. Scoot Henderson still hasn’t been extended this summer, and Shaedon Sharpe is out for six months with another injury.
That’s why Morant becomes such an interesting piece. Portland doesn’t need him to solve everything on day one, but he could be the bridge between the now and the next.
A future lineup of Morant, X, Camara, Avdija, and Clingan at least makes sense on paper. The immediate challenge is making the Morant-Lillard pairing function, and Carlesimo believes Lillard will do whatever it takes offensively to make that happen.
If Morant can get back to the level that once had people talking about him as the face of the league, Portland may have stumbled into a backcourt pairing that looks risky at first glance but turns out to be exactly what the Blazers needed.
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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 🡒]