Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin didn’t know it in June of 2024, but he was about to pull the trigger on a move that could ensure his job security in Portland for a long time. He traded Malcolm Brogdon and a couple of picks to the Washington Wizards for a then-unknown Deni Avdija.
Fast-forward to April 14, 2026, and Deni, having never played postseason ball in his career, stepped up to the occasion and turned in a commanding performance sorely missing in Portland basketball since Damian Lillard’s departure.Â
Deni Avdija just answered the Blazers' playoff question
Facing a game where a loss meant Portland had to play one of Stephen Curry or Kawhi Leonard for the final playoff seed, Deni willed the team to victory, even when it seemed the Suns were set to snatch it from the Blazers’ possession in the final minute.
Leading all scorers in the play-in game versus Phoenix, Deni uncorked 41 points and 12 assists in the victory, including some truly clutch buckets late in the game. Avdija either scored or assisted the Blazers’ final eight points, not counting Jerami Grant’s dunk with the game already decided.Â
Avdija didn’t do all his damage on the offensive end; he also chipped in two blocks and some sweltering man defense down the stretch, keeping a surging Suns team at bay whenever they threatened a comeback. That threat seemed to rear its head often, with the Suns holding a one-point lead with just 38 seconds left, right before Deni began his offensive masterclass and put the Blazers over the top.
While Deni wasn’t exempt from blunders in this matchup, from his five turnovers to his puzzling free-throw percentage, he stepped up in spite of all that and eked out the win despite the circumstances—the mark of a true leader.
There’s almost too much chatter surrounding any team that changes ownership, regarding the owner’s willingness to make drastic moves or upend the team culture to focus on the greater good; pain now for pleasure later. New owner Tom Dundon has to be impressed with the scrappiness of this Blazers team that just played its first game this season with a fully healthy roster.
With the victory, Portland delivers its draft pick to the Chicago Bulls and fulfills the final provision of the nagging Larry Nance Jr. trade that began with the prior regime. But it stands to reason that Cronin’s fateful trade for Avdija was part of Dundon’s decision-making process when he speculated that Cronin’s job with the organization is safe.Â
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