The Conversation: Are the Blazers ready to level up after interesting offseason?

On the one hand, it’s clear that the Portland Trail Blazers want to take the next step. After going 23-18 in the second half of the 2024-25 season, with the No. 3 defense in the league during that stretch, general manager Joe Cronin said that making the playoffs would be a “reasonable expectation” going forward. In the offseason, they swapped a 26-year-old guard (Anfernee Simons) for a 35-year-old guard (Jrue Holiday) and got out of the Deandre Ayton business, signaling that it was time to get serious.

On the other hand, um, is it? The biggest splash the Blazers made this summer was reuniting with Damian Lillard, a heartwarming story that will have no impact on the court this season beyond the intangibles that Lillard will bring back to the building. (The 35-year-old future Hall of Famer will miss the entire season, having torn his Achilles tendon five months ago.) The second-biggest splash was drafting Yang Hansen, who is eminently quotable (“Yao [Ming] is number one in paradise. Compared to him, I’m cold ash in a pot,” Yang told the Washington Post) but needs time the way that most 20-year-old centers do. On draft night, Cronin clarified what he wants to see: while the team could “possibly” make a playoff run, his expectation is that it improves over the course of the season, not that it hits any particular benchmark. In other words, the P-word that is important in Portland is “progress.”

The State of Play

Last year: At the halfway mark, the 2024-25 Blazers were 13-28 and on a five-game losing streak, with the second-worst net rating (and third-worst defense) in the NBA. It seemed like Chauncey Billups’ days as their coach were numbered, but, on the strength of an aggressive defense that forced tons of turnovers, they won 10 of their next 11 games and, after finishing the season 36-46, they signed Billups to a contract extension. Deni Avdija averaged 23.3 points (on 51-42-78 shooting splits), 9.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 33.6 minutes in the 20 games that he played after the All-Star break. Toumani Camara, the second-round pick acquired when they traded Lillard away, made the All-Defensive Second Team.

The offseason: The Blazers initially agreed to give up two second-round picks in the Simons-Holiday swap, but it turned into a one-for-one deal after they looked at Holiday’s medicals. They went into the draft with the No. 11 pick, but picked up a future first and two seconds by trading down to No. 16. This was still much higher than anybody projected Yang to go, and it elicited comparisons to the shocking selections of Georgios Papagiannis (at No. 13 in 2016) and Bruno Caboclo (at No. 20 in 2014). Aside from Simons, Portland did not trade any of the players who were rumored to be available, but the team saved about $10 million in the Ayton buyout. By returning to Portland on the midlevel exception, Lillard won the offseason.  

Las Vegas over/under: 34.5, per BetMGM

The Conversation

Blazers believer: There is only one place to start this discussion: Vegas, baby! I don’t understand how anyone could watch Yang Hansen’s summer league highlights and not buy his jersey immediately afterward. Some people laughed at the Blazers for their “reach” on draft night, but it’s obvious why that Nuggets scout called him “Chinese Jokic.” You just don’t find 7-foot-1 guys who pass the ball like this, let alone ones who can score in the post and step out to the 3-point line. I love his personality, too, and his massive popularity in China won’t hurt. Even if it takes him some time to adjust to the NBA game, Yang’s mere presence will be a huge positive for Portland. Between him and Dame, the Blazers have upgraded their vibes immeasurably.

Blazers skeptic: I haven’t bought the jersey, but I admit Yang is easy to root for. Which is why I don’t take any pleasure in pointing out that he had a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio at summer league. The “Chinese Jokic” thing is amusing, but it’s also extremely unfair! Had he been selected in the middle of the second round, merely lasting in the league as a third big would have been an awesome outcome. Now he might be seen as a bust if he’s a backup, and it really does feel like a reach to bet on him eventually being strong enough, mobile enough and a good enough shooter to be more than that. But enough about Yang. I would like to ask you about three (much) older players: What is Jrue Holiday doing here, exactly? Why, beyond “vibes,” is an injured Damian Lilllard a good use of the midlevel exception? And why is Jerami Grant still on the roster?

Blazers believer: Are these supposed to be hard questions? Holiday is here because he embodies everything the team wants to be about. He’s tough, he’s unselfish, he wins wherever he goes and he will make the Blazers’ backcourt of the future better. All it cost to get him was Anfernee Simons, a talented but defensively deficient player who had been on the trade block forever and was heading into a contract year. Lillard is a good use of the midlevel primarily because he’ll be an incredible bargain when he returns to the court in 2026-27. You’re crazy if you think he won’t help Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe develop, and you’re blind if you can’t see how much he means to Portland. As for Grant, it’s entirely because of his contract. He’s still owed $102.6 million over the next three years, and, with so many teams treating the second apron like a hard cap, there weren’t any appealing trades out there. I suppose it’ll be a little strange if/when he’s coming off the bench so that Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara can start at the forward spots, but there are much worse problems to have.

Blazers skeptic: I brought up the vets because I’m not sure what the Blazers are trying to do anymore. Are they still in development mode? Are they trying to make a playoff push? To me, Grant’s continued presence is a reflection of a more general confusion in Portland. He is a relic of the Lillard era, but, weirdly, Lillard is (kind of) back. And while moving Simons and going after a player with Holiday’s skill set both make some sense, the swap would have been a lot more logical if the two were on similar contracts. Amending the trade was technically good for Portland, but it definitely didn’t make me feel better about the fact that Holiday’s efficiency declined last season. He wasn’t consistently the same all-world guy on defense, either, and the Blazers now owe him $104 million over the next three years, in addition to what they’re paying Grant and Lillard. Even if Holiday and Lillard both bounce back, I find it hard to believe that investing in them is an optimal use of resources for an ostensibly rebuilding team. And if they don’t bounce back, it’ll be a catastrophe. 

Blazers believer: Optimal, shmoptimal. You need to relax. The Blazers still have plenty of flexibility, and they haven’t even started getting the Bucks‘ draft capital from the Lillard trade yet. Cap space isn’t what it used to be, so I don’t know why you’re freaking out about any of this, especially the no-brainer decision to bring back the best Blazer ever for chump change. Who would you have signed with the midlevel instead? Caris LeVert? Luke Kornet? Please. When Henderson and Sharpe break out, Avdija makes his first All-Star Game and Donovan Clingan joins Camara on an All-Defensive Team, I’m sure you’ll claim that it’s all proof that Portland shouldn’t have bothered adding veterans. And I’m sure everyone around the team will say that the vets played vital roles in making the plan come together.

Blazers skeptic: At least LeVert and Kornet are in their early 30s. But no. If I were in Joe Cronin’s shoes, I would have only used the MLE on a veteran in the way that the Jazz did — they absorbed Kyle Anderson into their MLE to facilitate the Norman Powell trade, picking up a second-round pick in the process. Alternatively, if Portland really wanted another guard to stabilize the offense, it could have gone after Ty Jerome, who signed with Memphis for the room exception and is seven years younger than Holiday. If Henderson, Sharpe, Avdija and Clingan do as you predicted, though, I promise I won’t criticize the Blazers’ offseason at all. The whole reason I’m frustrated with them is that the young guys should have had to accomplish more before the front office started acting like anything other than a normal rebuilding team. I want to see Henderson force teams to stop going under. I want Sharpe to knock down his spot-up 3s, draw more fouls and use his athletic gifts on defense. I want Clingan to show that he can handle more minutes and be at least a little bit of a threat on offense. And I want to know exactly how far Avdija can go as a creator. I don’t like the fact that, with Holiday and Grant in the mix, I’m not even sure that all of them will start.