The Portland Trail Blazers aren't buying out Jrue Holiday. This is a backcourt logjam that Portland believes either a) can work or b) doesn't need to be immediately resolved.
They have some sense of urgency surrounding Scoot Henderson, as he's currently extension-eligible up until the start of the 2026-27 season. They also need to eventually consider trading Holiday or Ja Morant, the two highest-paid players on their roster, to clear space to renegotiate and extend Deni Avdija.
While these remain key questions in Portland's rebuilding that GM Joe Cronin will have to navigate, the more immediate challenge for new head coach Micah Nori is to figure out who emerges as the starters in this backcourt logjam.
The Morant trade may have been good value, but it came at the expense of Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe next season. As Bleacher Report's Dan Favale previously pointed out, it puts them in the conversation for potential trade candidates this upcoming season.
Henderson and Sharpe seem like locks to come off the bench, raising questions about where they even fit into Portland's future plans despite Sharpe's extension last summer. There will still have to be one other starting-caliber player buying into a bench role, which will be the first true test in Nori's NBA head coaching career.
Micah Nori faces a Blazers starting lineup dilemma
As currently constructed, the Blazers have six players with strong cases to start: Morant, Holiday, Damian Lillard, Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, and Donovan Clingan.
Avdija and Clingan should be considered the two genuine locks, which is telling about their status as building blocks in this young core. Then, Nori humorously hinted at Lillard starting when he met the Blazers franchise icon earlier this summer: "I said I can promise you that if you can walk, you will start."
That could potentially leave Nori left to pick between Morant, Holiday, and Camara for the remaining two spots.
Each has their own strengths to offer this starting unit. It's a difficult decision that Nori may even have to experiment with throughout the season to find the best combination. Which again makes his uniquely structured contract unfavorable as the Blazers give him a short window to sort out a messy roster.
But as Nori said, it's a bet on himself. These steep immediate expectations comes with the rare opportunity for a first-year coach to take on a playoff roster. And seeing as Portland wants to see continued progress under Nori, it's hard to bench Holiday. At 36, he may not be the player he once was. But as he proved in his first year with the Blazers, there are still only a handful of guards you would pick ahead of the two-time champion to win a game.
Blazers should bring Ja Morant or Toumani Camara off the bench
With Morant and Camara, Portland essentially has to decide whether it wants more defense or more playmaking. That answer could depend on a variety of things, including matchups, Avdija's continued growth, and whether Lillard can fare as a secondary playmaker in his first year back.
It's great that the Blazers have enough depth to give Nori a good problem to have with so many starting-caliber players. But the reason why Holiday shouldn't be in that bench conversation is that he's like Hannah Montana: the best of both worlds. Portland gets the playmaking, floor spacing, and two-way impact from the versatile veteran guard.
That defensive switchability and positional versatility is the primary reason Portland should feel fine heading into the season with such a backcourt logjam. Holliday has already proven capable of being that third- or fourth-best player on a contender during his success in Milwaukee and Boston. He's also the ideal veteran to mentor Portland's young core, which we've most notably seen in Henderson's defensive growth.
The Blazers need to see if Morant or Camara fit around Holiday, not the other way around. And given how seamless a two-way fit Camara is, the main chance Morant has to emerge is to show that the Blazers need his playmaking in that first unit. It's a strong case, seeing as Portland led the league in turnovers per game last season at 16.5.
Should he have to be benched, however, Nori also previously mentioned on SiriusXM NBA Radio in July that he would be okay making that decision.
"Well, I don't know," Nori said. "I take people at their word. You can say it, and if it has to come to that, I'll say, 'Hey, you said you didn't care,' number one. But the second thing is, I really believe guys like Ja, Dame [Lillard], and Jrue [Holiday] that have been through it and been around want to win. Winning is the most important thing. If you can put yourself in a position to do that, whether it's coming off the bench or starting, as long as you get your minutes, I would never say it's easy."
Either way, the Blazers are set on establishing a winning culture in this new Dundon era, putting the long rebuild process behind them. That's why it shouldn't come as a surprise that the plan was never to buy out Holiday after landing Morant. It's also why Nori needs to consider starting the veteran guard, as he's still one of the best overall players on this Blazers roster.
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