{"id":809226,"date":"2026-08-11T17:18:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T17:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/809226\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T17:18:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T17:18:20","slug":"deni-avdija-should-remain-portlands-top-offensive-option-despite-lillard-morant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/809226\/","title":{"rendered":"Deni Avdija should remain Portland\u2019s top offensive option despite Lillard, Morant"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deni Avdija<\/a> should remain the Portland Trail Blazers\u2019 primary offensive option next season despite the expected return of Damian Lillard and the arrival of Ja Morant, according to a U.S. analysis looking ahead to the 2026\/27 NBA campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a Sports Illustrated ranking of Portland\u2019s three leading offensive weapons, Avdija was placed first, ahead of Morant and Lillard.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d0\u05d1\u05d3\u05d9\u05d4\"<\/a>\"\u05d0\u05d1\u05d3\u05d9\u05d4\"<\/p>\n

Deni Avdija <\/p>\n

(Photo: Ronald Cortes\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The analysis argued that even with two high-profile, ball-dominant guards joining the rotation, the Israeli forward \u201cshould still be the focal point of the team\u2019s offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAvdija is coming off the best season of his career,\u201d the report said, pointing to averages of 24.2 points and 6.7 assists per game for Portland.<\/p>\n

That represented a significant jump from the previous season and helped earn him the first All-Star selection of his career.<\/p>\n

The report also noted that Avdija finished as the leading scorer on an NBA playoff team, underscoring what it described as his considerable ceiling.<\/p>\n

At just 25, however, the analysis said there remains plenty of room for further improvement.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d2'\u05d4<\/a>\"\u05d2'\u05d4<\/p>\n

Ja Morant <\/p>\n

(Photo: AP Photo\/Brandon Dill)<\/p>\n

One key area will be catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. Avdija is expected to get more of those opportunities next season but will need to improve on the 31.8% he shot from beyond the arc last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Avdija can find the right balance between the role he played last season and the new opportunity he\u2019ll have alongside Lillard and Morant, two ball-dominant guards, it could open the door to another major leap in his career,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

Morant was ranked second.<\/p>\n

The analysis noted that he is coming off prolonged injury issues involving his calf and elbow but is expected to be healthy in time for training camp next month.<\/p>\n

Morant, an All-Star in 2022 and 2023, has been limited to 79 games over the past three seasons because of injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cA fresh start in Portland could be exactly what Morant needs to return to the form that made him one of the NBA\u2019s stars,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d3\u05de\u05d9\u05d0\u05df<\/a>\"\u05d3\u05de\u05d9\u05d0\u05df<\/p>\n

Damian Lillard <\/p>\n

(Photo: AP Photo\/Jae C. Hong)<\/p>\n

Morant has averaged 22.4 points and 7.4 assists per game over his career and is expected to serve as Portland\u2019s primary playmaker.<\/p>\n

His ability to attack the paint could also become an important part of the Blazers\u2019 offensive structure, with the team expected to tailor its system around his strengths.<\/p>\n

Lillard was ranked third.<\/p>\n

After fully recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, the veteran guard is returning to Portland without the expectation that he must carry the offense every night.<\/p>\n

That, the analysis argued, could significantly reduce the pressure on him while still allowing him to play an important role in the Blazers\u2019 push to return to the playoffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Deni Avdija should remain the Portland Trail Blazers\u2019 primary offensive option next season despite the expected return of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":809227,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3784],"tags":[7,601,6,687,471,3967,1617],"class_list":["post-809226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-portland-trail-blazers","tag-basketball","tag-blazers","tag-nba","tag-portland","tag-portland-trail-blazers","tag-portlandtrailblazers","tag-trail-blazers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117078019996440952","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}