7/20/26
The city of Portland has been the subject of many fans’ eyes over the course of this NBA off-season. Most notably, the trade for Ja Morant, who is one of the flashiest guards in the NBA and a two-time All-Star. Morant will bring a whole new dynamic to the team and will be interesting to see as he will be paired with an aging and injury prone Damien Lillard, who still has a lot to give to the city. Morant will surely take over as the team’s highlight, and he said he is looking to start fresh after lingering controversies surrounding his name. The team is still young and just made the playoffs, even winning a game against the Spurs, who would go on to the Finals. Lillard is obviously the staple on the team and a town hero, but Morant has been in the league long enough and had enough success to take on a leadership role if he chooses.
Morant and Lillard will both start, which will likely mean that Jrue Holiday will come off the bench, which could be beneficial as Holiday is a champion and a long-time vet that can manage that secondary squad. He also has been one of the best defenders in the league for a long time, which will add another layer of efficiency for the team with the new high-powered offense. Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe’s minutes will also be a little less with Morant joining the team. Both Henderson and Sharpe will fall into their roles well, as both are efficient scorers and athletic enough to give opposing guards problems on both defense and offense.
Other signings include a three-year, $44 million contract extension for Robert Williams III, a center who can serve as the defensive threat in the post and get rebounds for the all-star guards surrounding him off the bench. He will also likely play off of the pick-and-roll now that Morant will be primarily handling the ball to open up space for the high flyer to operate.
The staring lineup will likely be Ja Morant, Damien Lillard, Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, and Donovan Clingan. This lineup will produce a well roundedness on offense with the shooting of player like Lillard, the interior scoring of Ajvida and Morant, and the defense and rebounding of Clingan. There is a lot of optimism for this Portland team and how the different skillset of players can connect with each other. Can Morant truly start fresh and make an impact on the new team and be the leader as Damien Lillard gets towards the end of his career? How will it look with Holiday and Henderson coming off the bench and less minutes on the court? Still a lot of questions that will not be answered until the season starts but this young team just made the playoffs and has added an all star with a big name to the mix. Fans will have to wait and see what the Blazers are made of come October which can’t come soon enough.
