The Portland Trail Blazers were already a pretty fun team last season, finishing 42-40, eighth in the West, and making the playoffs before losing 4-1 to the Spurs in the first round. The numbers showed basically what they were: decent, competitive, but not close to a contender yet. Portland ranked 20th offensively at 114.4 points, 14th defensively at 114.7, and finished with a -0.3 Net Rating.
The Blazers then went crazy this offseason and traded Jerami Grant and Kris Murray for Ja Morant, giving a 42-win team a two-time All-Star without touching Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan, or Shaedon Sharpe. Morant had a brutal 2025-26 season health-wise, playing only 20 games before a left elbow UCL sprain ended his year, but he is expected to be ready for the start of 2026-27.
And then there is Damian Lillard. He missed the entire 2025-26 season recovering from his torn left Achilles, so we obviously can’t just assume the 36-year-old version will immediately look like old Dame. His last healthy regular season was still really good, though: 24.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.1 assists with 44.8% from the field, 37.6% from three, and a 62.1% true shooting percentage in 2024-25.
So this isn’t the same squad from last season that impressed just by reaching the postseason. New head coach Micah Nori has a huge amount of guards, multiple great defenders, and probably one of the deepest frontcourt rotations in the league. The question is whether all of that actually fits well enough to turn Ja’s arrival into something bigger than another playoff appearance.
Projected Starting Lineup
Point Guard – Ja Morant
Shooting Guard – Damian Lillard
Small Forward – Toumani Camara
Power Forward – Deni Avdija
Center – Donovan Clingan
The starting five starts with one pretty huge gamble: Ja Morant has to look a lot more like his old self than the guy we saw last season. He still put up 19.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 8.1 assists in only 28.5 minutes, but the efficiency was rough at 41.0% from the field, 23.5% from three, and 52.1% true shooting. He also played only 20 games, so hopefully the injuries and horrible shooting were a one-year mess, and this refreshed start can bring out his best.
The good part is that this roster doesn’t need Ja taking 25 shots. Deni Avdija became an All-Star last season with 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists, shooting 46.2% from the field with a 60.0% true shooting mark. His three-point shot fell to 31.8%, but he got to the line 9.2 times per game and made 80.2% there. That downhill pressure next to Morant can make Portland horrible to contain in transition, because both can grab the ball and attack immediately instead of waiting for a point guard to set everything up.
Lillard is the guy who makes that pairing work better. His movement and shooting give Morant space that Memphis didn’t always have, and Dame doesn’t need to dominate the ball anymore. If he can get anywhere near the 37.6% he shot from three in 2024-25 on nine attempts per game, Portland suddenly has someone defenses absolutely can’t leave when Ja or Avdija gets downhill. The concern is obvious too: Lillard is 36 coming off an Achilles tear, and asking him to defend starting guards next to Morant could be the Achilles’ heel of this team.
That is exactly why Toumani Camara will come in handy. He played all 82 games last season and gave Portland 13.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 steals while shooting 37.0% from three on 7.2 attempts. Defensively, he can take the matchup nobody wants Morant or Dame to have. He was an All-Defensive Second Team player in 2024-25, and even without another selection last year, he is still the main perimeter stopper of this lineup.
Donovan Clingan finishes the group and probably gives Portland its best chance of hanging on defensively. He had 12.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.7 blocks in only 27.2 minutes, with 4.5 offensive rebounds per game and a 60.4% true shooting percentage. He even hit 34.1% from three on 3.2 attempts, which isn’t amazing but is enough to at least make defenses think about him outside the paint. The Blazers were only 14th defensively last season, but a full year of Clingan starting behind Camara should give Nori a much better base.
The spacing is still the biggest question with this five. Morant shot 23.5% from three, Avdija 31.8%, and Clingan 34.1%, so defenses are going to test Portland by loading up the paint and helping off the weaker shooters. Lillard and Camara can punish that, but this offense will be at its best when it runs, attacks early, and doesn’t let teams get comfortable building a wall in the half-court.
Bench Rotation
Point Guard – Jrue Holiday
Shooting Guard – Scoot Henderson
Small Forward – Shaedon Sharpe
Power Forward – Jeremy Sochan
Center – Robert Williams III
This bench is kind of insane on paper because Jrue Holiday and Shaedon Sharpe were starters last season. Holiday finished with 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists while shooting 45.1% from the field and 37.8% from three, and Portland was +197 in his 53 appearances. He is 36 now, so moving him into a sixth-man role actually makes a ton of sense. He can run second units, defend whichever guard is causing problems, and close games whenever Dame’s defense becomes too hard to hide.
Shaedon Sharpe gives the bench a near All-Star scorer. He put up 20.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 50 games while shooting 45.2% from the field, although the 33.7% from three still needs work. Scoot Henderson was more inconsistent, but even he improved to 14.2 points and 3.7 assists with 35.2% from three in 30 games. Those two are probably overqualified for bench roles, and that is exactly why Portland can keep the offense alive when Morant, Dame, or Avdija sits.
The frontcourt gets much more defensive. Jeremy Sochan had a lackluster season, falling to only 3.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists across 44 games with the Spurs and Knicks, but his career numbers are still 9.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Portland signed him to a one-year deal, and I like him for the Blazers because his defense, rebounding, and ability to guard forwards actually fill a need.
Robert Williams III gives them another legit rim protector after posting 6.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks on 70.8% from the field in 59 games, then signing a three-year, $44.0 million extension.
That second unit also gives Nori a lot of ways to mix things up. Holiday can close over Lillard or Morant, Sharpe can close over Camara if Portland needs scoring, and Williams can replace Clingan without losing rim protection. The problem is finding enough minutes for everybody, because a ten-man rotation with Morant, Dame, Holiday, Scoot, and Sharpe means five guards are all expecting touches.
Extra Depth
Point Guard – Vit Krejci
Shooting Guard – John Tonje
Small Forward – Sidy Cissoko
Power Forward – Yang Hansen
Center – Branden Carlson
Vit Krejci is probably the best player in this group and honestly could steal rotation minutes if Portland needs shooting. He finished 2025-26 with 8.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 39.0% from three overall. His Portland numbers were worse after the February trade, only 30.3% from deep in 19 games, but his larger sample says he can shoot, and this roster definitely needs that skill.
John Tonje is more of a development option after spending most of last season in the G League, where he put up 18.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists with 35.4% from three. He only played six NBA games with Boston before signing with Portland, so expecting minutes now would be a stretch. Sidy Cissoko is in a similar spot because the Blazers simply have too many better perimeter options ahead of him.
The center depth is almost comical. Yang Hansen spent 2025-26 in the G League and enters camp fighting for minutes behind Clingan and Williams, while Branden Carlson arrives after putting up 5.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 11.6 minutes for Oklahoma City. Carlson has hit 34.9% of his career threes, so he offers a different look as a floor-spacing big man, but neither should play much unless there are injuries.
Can Ja Morant Make Them A Title Team?
This is where I have to slow down a little, because the roster looks cooler than the actual title case. Portland won 42 games last season with the 20th-ranked offense, 14th-ranked defense, and a negative Net Rating, then got handled by San Antonio in five games. Adding Morant and getting Lillard back can obviously move those numbers, but going from a borderline playoff team to a Conference Finals run is a huge jump.
The offensive ceiling is way higher now. Morant has a career average of 22.4 points and 7.4 assists, Avdija just became an All-Star, Lillard was still scoring 24.9 points per game the last time he played, and Sharpe is coming off 20.8 points. Portland can put four different 20-point-level scorers on the floor depending on the lineup, which is a massive upgrade over a team that ranked only 20th in Offensive Rating.
Still, I don’t love the half-court fit enough to call them a title favorite. Ja isn’t a shooter, Avdija just had a bad three-point year, Clingan is still developing as a spacer, and Lillard is returning from a major injury. If teams can go under Morant screens and wall up against his drives, Portland will need Dame, Camara, and Avdija to hit threes at a much higher rate than usual.
The defensive side is much more sound now. Camara and Clingan are excellent pieces, and Holiday off the bench can fix a lot, but a Morant-Lillard backcourt is tiny and attackable. Against teams like the Thunder, Lakers, Spurs, or Timberwolves, Portland might be forced to close with Holiday instead of Lillard just to survive at the point of attack. That gives them flexibility, but it also shows why this roster still has some weird overlaps.
The biggest thing is health. Morant has played only 79 games over the last three seasons, while Lillard just lost an entire year to an Achilles tear, and Williams has his own long injury history. If those three stay healthy, the Blazers are deep enough to win 50 games. If not, all that depth gets used just trying to survive the regular season.
Final Prediction
I like Portland a lot more than I did a year ago, but I still wouldn’t call them a true contender yet. The offense should jump from 20th into the top half if Morant and Lillard stay healthy, while Camara, Clingan, Holiday, and Williams give them enough defensive talent to improve from 14th.
My expectation is something around 49 to 52 wins and a top-six seed in the West. That is a very good team, and if the bracket shows them mercy, they could absolutely win a playoff series or even make the second round look uncomfortable for somebody better.
But for a championship, I still trust the Thunder, Spurs, and a few other West teams more. Morant makes Portland dangerous again, maybe really dangerous, but the shooting, defense, and health questions are still too big for me to put the Blazers in the top contender tier.
For now, I see them as a strong playoff team with a second-round ceiling, and probably one more major move away from becoming a real title threat.
