Portland Trail Blazers offseason recap, early 2026-27 season preview
With noise outside the hardwood growing in Portland, how will the Blazers respond? We're looking at the offseason and previewing the 2026-27 season.
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Coming off a 42-win season and the team's first playoff berth in five years, the headlines out of Portland this summer have been concerning.
Following a large number of layoffs within the franchise, new owner Tom Dundon announced that he doesn't plan to help with the $600 million arena upgrades to the Moda Center in Portland and that it would be up to the city to pay for them. If the city doesn't pay for the upgrades, the potential for Dundon to move the franchise out of Portland could rise.
Meanwhile, on the court, the Trail Blazers added two-time All-Star guard Ja Morant to a deep backcourt that includes Damian Lillard, who returns to the lineup after he missed all of last season with an Achilles tear. They also bring back much of their production from last season with Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan, Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara and Shaedon Sharpe all returning.
Will Portland make a return trip to the playoffs after a surprising finish during the 2025-26 season, or will the outside noise be too much for the young Blazers to overcome?
ESPN's staff of experts is looking back at the offseason and taking an early look at the 2026-27 season for all 30 teams, with 30 pieces -- one for every team -- rolling out each weekday through Sept. 18. We're answering the biggest looming questions, evaluating X factors and much more for all 30 teams.
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Offseason at a glance
Key additions: G Ja Morant, F Jeremy Sochan Key retentions: C Robert Williams III Key subtractions: F Jerami Grant, F Kris Murray, G Matisse Thybulle
Sadly, the Blazers made far more noise this offseason with their off-court business dealings than anything they did with their roster.
New owner Tom Dundon's aggressive cost-cutting measures and ongoing fight for arena financing have distracted from the progress that Portland made on the court last season, when it reached the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Although the Blazers were the only team that sat out June's draft by not making a pick, they will add two high-profile guards to a rotation that otherwise looks very similar to last season.
Lillard, a franchise icon, is back from an Achilles tendon injury that sidelined him for the entire 2025-26 campaign, and Morant, a two-time All-Star, arrived in a trade that sent Grant and Murray to the Memphis Grizzlies. -- Ben Golliver
Zach Kram's offseason grade: B-
Portland re-signed Williams to a great extension, which both keeps the valuable role player on its roster and gives the team protection if the injury-prone center misses more time.
The Trail Blazers also traded for Morant, which makes sense as a pure talent play but comes with serious fit questions, as new coach Micah Nori will now have to juggle a backcourt of Morant, Lillard, Sharpe, Scoot Henderson and Holiday, to say nothing of All-Star forward Avdija, who was at his best playing on the ball last season. -- Kram
What we learned over the past few months
From Golliver's offseason lessons piece: Tom Dundon has no interest in making a good first impression.
Dundon has spent the first few months of his ownership tenure making negative headlines of all kinds: He executed sweeping layoffs, cut ties with the team's popular broadcasters, and hired coach Micah Nori on an unconventional year-to-year contract. Most importantly, his ongoing battle with local officials over an arena financing deal has sparked some concern locally that he might try to relocate the Trail Blazers, who have been a Portland institution since 1970.
Get Ready For The NBA Season
ESPN is evaluating the offseason and taking an early look at next season, with 30 pieces -- one for every team -- rolling out each weekday through Sept. 18.
What's most striking about the early days of the Dundon era is how little he cares about the impact of the bad press. The Blazers built positive momentum by reaching the playoffs last season, and their 2026-27 campaign will feature Damian Lillard's feel-good comeback to the Rose City. Rather than ride that wave of optimism, Dundon has sought to rock the boat as hard as possible to further his long-term financial interests. Multiple longtime team employees who survived the job cuts expressed misgivings over Dundon's leadership approach, raising concerns about its impact on the organization's culture and direction.
Dundon's approach could be influenced by his success owning the Carolina Hurricanes, who won this year's Stanley Cup. However, he would do well to study the most successful small-market NBA teams, which usually take an inclusive, community-based approach to cultivating their fanbases. Does Dundon really want his paying customers fretting over arena negotiations instead of getting excited for what should be the organization's best season since 2018-19? And what's his pitch to future free agents and trade targets who know him only for his penny-pinching and sharp-elbowed tactics? -- Golliver
The big question: How will the guards work together?
First-time head coach Nori, who was hired in June, will have real talent at his disposal, but his roster is heavy on scoring-minded guards and light on frontcourt difference-makers.
Lillard, Morant, Avdija and Holiday boast All-Star credentials, while Henderson and Sharpe are recent lottery picks.
Even if Nori, a former Minnesota Timberwolves assistant, gets creative with his lineups, there aren't enough touches and shots to go around.
Perhaps Portland can ease the logjam by treading lightly with Lillard, who is 36 and coming off the biggest injury of his career, and Morant, who played only 20 games last season due to health concerns. Eventually, though, at least one of the Blazers' prominent guards will be asked to make uncomfortable sacrifices. -- Golliver
Basketball Power Index rank: No. 13
Here are the predicted Net Points per 100 possessions for the Blazers' top seven players for the 2026-27 season:
Portland has seven players who project to be at least slightly positive, which is the fourth most in the league. None of those players projects to be significantly positive, though, and the top two are Lillard and Morant, who both missed a lot of time in recent seasons.
The Blazers are built to withstand some injuries and be solid to good but are not built for going deep into the playoffs, at least not without luck restoring Lillard and Morant to their past heights, which were formidable. -- Dean Oliver
Read about how Net Points works here.
Post-free agency Power Rankings: Blazers are No. 18 Tiering the 22 teams that can extend the NBA's parity run Biggest X factor this season G Scoot Henderson
In his last season before reaching restricted free agency -- barring an unexpected extension before then -- Henderson is still something of a mystery for Portland. The former No. 3 pick transitioned from point guard to more of an off-ball role last season; in five playoff games, for instance, he tallied only six total assists but made 13 3-pointers.
Now, Henderson must find his place in an extremely crowded backcourt, with Lillard and Morant joining the fold. There will be only so many shots and on-ball opportunities to go around. -- Kram
Betting insight from our expert
Bet to make ahead of the season: OVER 43.5 regular-season wins (-120)
The Blazers won 42 games last season and then added Morant, with Lillard expected back from his Achilles injury. The Morant-Lillard pairing could be rough defensively, but Holiday gives them some cover. With more shot creation and star power, the Blazers should clear their win total. -- Eric Moody
Odds by DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publication.
