The Portland Trail Blazers’ offseason has left one young wing in a position to benefit: Sidy Cissoko.
Portland is heading into the new season with much of the same roster it had a year ago, even after adding Branden Carlson, Micah Potter and Ja Morant to the mix. That continuity matters for a team trying to keep its chemistry intact, and it also gives Cissoko a cleaner path to a bigger role in his second year with the club.
Cissoko is no longer on a two-way deal. He’s now on a standard contract, and that alone changes the conversation around him.
A little over a year ago, he was one of the new faces trying to find his footing. Now, he looks like a player the Blazers can trust in a real rotation spot.
The backcourt is where Portland’s offseason has shifted the most. Morant is in, and Damian Lillard is expected to be healthy when the season opens, which means the Blazers are likely to start with a small pair of guards. That setup puts even more pressure on the wings to handle the defensive work on the perimeter.
Toumani Camara is set to start, but Cissoko appears positioned to take on a meaningful role with the second unit. Portland had also considered bringing back Matisse Thybulle for a similar job, but he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers instead. That opens the door wider for Cissoko.
Last season, Cissoko played a little over 19 minutes per game across 75 appearances, including 26 starts. He posted career highs with 5.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. At 6-6, he gives the Blazers the kind of size and versatility that lets him guard multiple spots, and that should make him a useful piece for new head coach Micah Nori.
His defensive impact was already noticeable. Cissoko finished with a 116.9 defensive rating in his minutes last season, which ranked among the top eight on the team.
Portland’s bench picture is crowded, though. Robert Williams III, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe are all expected to come off the bench in some capacity, so Cissoko may end up as the team’s 10th man. Even so, his skill set stands apart from the rest of that group, and that makes him valuable.
The Blazers should have enough offense to spread around. What will really decide their season is defense. If they can’t put the right mix of players on the floor to get stops, moving up in the Western Conference standings is going to be a tough climb.
In Other News...
Blazers Fans Are Watching Another Piece Of Rip City Disappear
The new look around the Trail Blazers is not limited to the court or even the front office. Just months into Tom Dundons ownership, the organization has already gone through layoffs and restructuring, and the changes are now reaching the broadcast side as Rip City Television Network settles in after bringing games back to free over-the-air TV. For fans, that means another familiar part of the Rip City experience is being reshaped almost as soon as the new era began.
The timing makes the turnover feel especially notable because the broadcast team has long been part of how Portland viewers connected with the franchise night after night. With the network launch still fresh and the organizational reset continuing, there is now added uncertainty around who will be calling games when next season arrives. For a fan base already adjusting to a changed team structure, the latest shift is another reminder that the Blazers transition is still very much underway. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Fans Suddenly Have A Real Reason To Worry About Scoot
Scoot Henderson entered last season with a chance to start carving out a long-term place in Portlands backcourt, but a hamstring injury cut into that opportunity before it could really take hold. Instead of building momentum as the Blazers lead guard, he spent much of the year trying to get back on the floor, leaving the organization with more questions than answers about where he fits next.
Now the picture is even murkier. Portland has added more talent to the backcourt, and Henderson is eligible for a contract extension this summer, which puts his next step under a brighter spotlight. For a player who still needs a clean runway to show he can be a foundational piece, the margin for error suddenly feels a lot smaller. [Read more 🡒]