For many teams in the NBA, fewer than 20 games remain; 75 percent of the total scheduled games have been played. This juncture represents a schism in the NBA strata, most notably separating the contenders from the so-called pretenders. Despite this fork in the road, the Portland Trail Blazers have been forced onto the pretender's path despite the club’s best efforts.
There’s a good amount of blame to spread around, from an abrupt coaching change to several lingering injuries, but the most disappointing salient point from this season is that Portland’s “young core”—that is, Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, and Donovan Clingan—has played exactly zero minutes together this season.
The Blazers have yet to reach their final form
Much ado has been made this season about that lineup, only for those plans being derailed by Henderson’s preseason injury. As of this writing, Scoot has played just 10 games, starting one. Shaedon Sharpe had exactly 14 minutes of overlap with Scoot before straining his calf in Memphis on February 6. Behind closed doors, that calf strain gave way to a stress reaction, which may sideline Sharpe into next season.
Deni Avdija’s lingering back injury is a different story; he was not available for that fateful Memphis game and has played just a handful of games since. Camara and Clingan have been fixtures of every Blazers starting lineup since the season’s start; Camara has missed no games, Clingan has missed six.
There are several ways to accept this fateful turn of events; the doomer route considers the ‘25-’26 campaign as another lost season, one in which the team drafted multi-year project Yang Hansen, got a year older, and built zero chemistry. However, there are many positives to take away from this turn of events.
Above all else, this year’s draft is seen as largely generational, with three bona fide franchise-altering picks projected at the top before the NCAA season began. Since then, more and more talented players have been cropping up as the games play out. Keaton Wagler of Illinois is one prime example; Wagler came into the ‘25-’26 NCAAM season as the number 261 recruit in his class. He is now consistently mocked in the top 10. With the bottom nine teams squarely in focus, this puts the Blazers in play for that tenth pick.
Missing the playoffs enacts the final year of leeway for the franchise-altering Larry Nance Jr. trade, in which the Blazers have owed a lottery-protected pick to the Chicago Bulls for five straight seasons. 2027’s draft is far weaker than this year’s, making the ‘26-’27 season much more amenable to making a postseason push.
Thirdly, new Blazers owner Tom Dundon likely has some coaching changes in mind that will help steer the team firmly onto the contenders’ turnpike next season, while the integration of returning star Damian Lillard serves as a major connecting piece within the ranks.
With a full offseason and training camp for “the lineup” to gel, we have not yet seen the final form of this team.