Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan and the Blazers look to build on last season with Damian Lillard and Ja Morant joining the mix.
Offseason Recap
• Last Season: 42-40 (8th in West, lost in First Round)
• Key Additions: Branden Carlson, Ja Morant, Micah Potter, Jeremy Sochan
• Every Trail Blazers move this offseason
Season Outlook
The Trail Blazers have their third head coach in less than 12 months, with both Chauncey Billups and Tiago Splitter giving way to Micah Nori. The backcourt might be overstocked, assuming veterans Damian Lillard and Ja Morant can perform close to their former selves. Deni Avdija was Portland’s MVP last season, a 6-foot-8 forward who initiated a lot of offense, hiked his scoring average from 16.9 to 24.2, and finished third in Most Improved balloting.
Center Donovan Clingan was a paint protector, leading the league in offensive rebounds (4.5 per game) and ranking top 5 in second-chance points, overall rebounding average, and blocks. Forward Toumani Camara flexed his defense by leading the NBA in offensive fouls drawn (106), the most since the stat first got tracked 21 years ago.
The Trail Blazers poked above .500 last season and ended their four-year playoff drought. But they’ll need to be even better against West competition that looks to be dialed up for 2026-27.
Breakout Candidate: Micah Nori
Normally you’d expect to find a player here. But Nori, Portland’s new head coach, is in a great position to exceed expectations in his first opportunity in the lead role after being an assistant coach in the NBA since 2009, most recently with Minnesota.
Nori brings to Portland a strong offensive reputation and an ability to shrug off adversity, two attributes that should serve him well. If he can wring more useful life out of franchise legend Lillard, revive Morant’s dynamic skills, cover for both defensively, get Avdija to adjust to all those guards and guide the team back to the postseason, he’ll have achieved his breakout.
1 Number To Know
18.4 — The Blazers averaged 18.4 second-chance points per game, the second most for any team in the 30 seasons for which second-chance points have been counted. Clingan (14.9%) and Robert Williams III (13.3%) ranked second and seventh in offensive rebounding percentage among 305 players who averaged at least 15 minutes in 40 games or more.
Overall, the Blazers ranked 21st offensively. They were a bottom-10 shooting team and committed a league-high 16.9 turnovers per 100 possessions. But they were 28th (ahead of only the Nets and Wizards) in regard to initial offense, and it was all those second-chance points that kept them somewhat competitive on that end of the floor.
The initial offense should be improved with the additions of Lillard and Morant this season, and the Blazers should continue to give themselves plenty of second-chance opportunities.
— John Schuhmann
5 Must-See Matchups
• Nov. 10: Thunder vs. Trail Blazers — OKC arrives at the Moda Center for the first of back-to-back games, on the heels of San Antonio dropping in a few days earlier. Those three games are bookended by 10 road games, a daunting stretch that has Portland playing 12 of its first 17 away from home.
• Nov. 16: Trail Blazers vs. Timberwolves — New coach Nori takes his crew into Target Center for two games in two nights, returning as a head coach to the place where he helped former boss Chris Finch build Minnesota into a West contender.
• Nov. 19: Trail Blazers vs. Bucks — This time it’s Lillard going back to face a former employer, one that shared with him high hopes of East success but wound up fizzling in injury and salary cap maneuvers. It might be Dame Time in Milwaukee.
• Feb. 6: Trail Blazers vs. Grizzlies — Morant is scheduled to make his return to Memphis, where he crafted a rollercoaster career through his first seven seasons. Showtime beckons for Portland fans – and the TV audience in western Tennessee.
• March 19: Trail Blazers vs. Warriors — Portland finishing ahead of Golden State in the 2025-26 conference standings marked the only time in the past 12 years that has happened. It might be in position to do it again as the teams meet for the fourth and final time in 2026-27.
> Complete Regular Season Schedule
Preseason Storylines
The Blazers have a fleet of impressive guards, who will all need to find clear roles this season. Lillard is back in town, but he will have gone 542 days between games if he’s available for the season opener – he missed all of last season rehabbing from a torn Achilles. Up-and-coming Shaedon Sharpe suffered a torn meniscus in an August workout and might miss most or all of the season. Morant needs to reset from his mercurial Memphis days, Jrue Holiday is 36 now and Scoot Henderson might have to log most of his minutes out of the point guard position. There’s a whole lot of sorting out to be done.
Avdija, meanwhile, won’t likely get the plentiful touches and looks this season. His usage soared to 28.5 last season after bumping along at 16.8 in his four Washington seasons, but Lillard and Morant need the ball to be effective.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
