Ranking the Blazers' Offensive Pecking Order

The Blazers would love for prime Dame time to enter the building for the team next season. It is a big ask for one of the greatest players in franchise history. Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023, mainly because he couldn't be the top player on a championship contender. The Blazers didn't have the right personnel to surround him with, which ultimately led to the team falling to the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

When Lillard signed with the team two years later in free agency, they were much more built for success, albeit not quite at the championship level. With Lillard fully healed from his torn Achilles, he comes to the Blazers not needing to be the guy all the time. That should take a lot of pressure off his shoulders as he helps the Blazers get back to the playoffs.

There will be some nights where Lillard does look like his former self, and he is going off for 25 or 30 points a game. His best scoring season of his career was his last one in Portland, in 2022-23, when he averaged 32.2 points per game. Lillard was still hitting averages hovering around 24 points per game in his two seasons with the Bucks, so he is capable of scoring at a high level. It will be intriguing to see how he responds following his Achilles tear and how he meshes in with his fellow co-stars.

Blazers head coach Micah Nori is going to count on him tremendously based on what he said when he was first hired by the team.

“I said I can promise you, that if you can walk, you will start,” Nori said of Lillard via The Athletic insider Jason Quick. “And I said, don’t worry, at the end of the game, we’re going to put you in diagonal-fist, just like (former Blazers assistant) Jay (Triano) did, and do a little knockoff, and you’ll get to your step-back going left. Don’t worry.”

2) Ja Morant: The Shiny New Trade Acquisition

Like Lillard, Morant is coming off of some long-term injuries with his calf and elbow, but he is expected to be healthy and ready to go for the start of training camp next month.

Morant has a lot of upside as a player who was an All-Star in 2022 and 2023. Injuries have limited him to just 79 games in the three seasons since, but a fresh start in Portland could be exactly what Morant needs to get back to his All-Star caliber.

Morant has a career scoring average of 22.4, but he has also averaged 7.4 assists per game. His role in the offense will likely be the prime facilitator for his teammates. Morant's ability to drive into the lane will also help build the Blazers' offense. Portland should utilize these strengths and cater to them as they look to make everything fit.

1) Deni Avdija: The All-Star

While the introductions of Lillard and Morant into the offense should change Avdija's role, he should still be the number one option for the team.

Avdija is coming off the best season of his career, in which he averaged 24.2 points and 6.7 assists per game for the Blazers. That was a massive jump from the previous season, making him an All-Star for the first time. Avdija was the leading scorer on a playoff team in the NBA, which just goes to show where his ceiling truly is.

At just 25 years old, Avdija still has a lot of room for growth as well. He will be tasked with more catch-and-shoot threes, and he will have to get better in that part of his game, as he only made 31.8 percent of his shots from beyond the three-point line last season.

If Avdija can find the right middle ground between his role last season and his new opportunity playing with Lillard and Morant as ball-dominant guards, it could truly unlock the next step in his growth as a player.

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