The Portland Trail Blazers are sending an important message about the upcoming 2025-26 season: It is going to be their last one as a rebuilding team.
This was somewhat implied when they reunited with 35-year-old Damian Lillard. He won’t play this year as he recovers from an Achilles injury and will instead serve as a mentor. But he isn’t someone Portland brings back if it’s not planning to fast-track the timeline prior to his return.
All of that is nevertheless akin to reading between the lines. Now, though, we have somewhat-official confirmation. Keith Smith of Spotrac spoke with a Blazers front office member while attending Las Vegas Summer League, and the exec’s comments on the heels of Lillard’s arrival are illuminating.
“We realize it’s a great story, and we’re excited about that element,” they said. “But we’re really excited about having Dame around our young guys. He’s going to be so good for them. And then next year, after another year of improvement, we’re really going to take off,
The “really going to take off” closing here speaks volumes. And it confirms what many of us suspected all along. The question is: What does “really going to take off” look like?
The Blazers still have plenty of questions to figure out
Portland may wind up organically accelerating its position in the Western Conference without making any other significant moves. The team played above-.500 basketball and fielded a top-10 defense for basically half of last season while relying predominantly on youngsters. Six of their seven most-used players were age-25 or younger.
Between Deni Avidja making a mockery of everyone who doubted last summer’s trade, the burgeoning defense of Donovan Clingan and Toumani Camara, incremental-but-important improvement from Scoot Henderson, and just a generally deep roster, the Blazers were already positioned to improve. They have since upped their intrigue factor with the addition of veteran Jrue Holiday, and by drafting a potential gem at No. 16 in Yang Hansen.
Next year’s defense could be terrifying—real 11-out-of-10, no-notes stuff. Questions remain about the offense. Anfernee Simons was by far the team’s best floor-spacer. Going from him to Holiday is an outside-shooting downgrade, and Portland hasn’t done anything to offset the difference.
Positional battles continue to unfold in both the short and long terms as well. Jerami Grant looks out of place even if the Blazers are trying to win, and it’ll be interesting to see how the team juggles and prioritizes the Clingan-Hansen dynamic.
Portland must figure out what really taking off looks like
Expecting to “take off” by 2026-27 puts a ton of pressure specifically on Hansen, Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe to go kaboom on the offensive end, or it suggests the Blazers intend to take even bigger swings on players not currently in their employ. Really, it’s probably a bit of both.
Portland will not slingshot up the West’s pecking order without one of their primary youngsters turning into a reliably premier offensive player. Failing that internal breakout or two, the Blazers will have to look toward the trade market. They have plenty of matching salary, future picks, and prospects to grease the wheels of a blockbuster. They could be a sneaky Giannis Antetokounmpo team. Or Lauri Markkanen suitor. Or Jaylen Brown admirer. The list goes on.
No, this “really going to off” comment doesn’t have to mean seismic change is coming down the pipeline. But it does suggest the Blazers have set a deadline for the official end of their rebuild. And that zero hour is approaching.