The Portland Trail Blazers had their first practice of the 2026-27 season on Tuesday, and big man Branden Carlson was the one standout performer identified by head coach Micah Nori.
The former Oklahoma City Thunder center came over in a quiet offseason signing and is already looking like the most recent win on the margins by general manager Joe Cronin.
Branden Carlson looks like the latest win on the margins
Now, it's a matter of finding a consistent role and minutes for Carlson, which is a good problem for Nori to have.
At Media Day, Nori discussed the significance of the Robert Williams III extension this offseason, which gives him the flexibility to play Donovan Clingan and Williams all 48 minutes and have a defensive anchor out there at all times if needed.
It's a great decision for Portland, especially considering the injury protections baked into Williams' new deal. However, the center logjam, paired with the lack of positional flexibility from Clingan, Williams, and even Yang Hansen, raises questions about how Nori will navigate this frontcourt.
Micah Potter is another underrated offseason addition, claimed by Portland after being waived by the Indiana Pacers. He's the most reliable knockdown shooter in this group, a career 38.9 percent three-point shooter.
That floor spacing will make it easier for Potter to play alongside Clingan or Williams in double big lineups. Still, Carlson isn't far behind at 34.9 percent, which could give him at least the potential to play that role as well.
Micah Nori should try out Branden Carlson at power forward
Through two seasons with the Thunder, Carlson has spent roughly just two percent of the time at the power forward position. It may be ambitious, but it's worth experimenting with for Nori.
There was a similar optimism about the double-big possibilities after the Blazers drafted Clingan and Hansen with consecutive first-round picks. That never came to fruition, but not to Clingan's fault; he's improved his three-point game even more than many expected.
Whether it's Carlson or Potter, hopefully the Blazers have a true stretch big now who can give Nori another dimension. They had that somewhat with Duop Reath, though his tweener status and defensive limitations made it much harder to crack Tiago Splitter's rotation last season before he was ultimately traded to the Atlanta Hawks at the deadline in the Vit Krejci deal.
With Carlson already emerging as a standout in practice, Nori should at least see if he can fill that void or add the dimension that was missing from the Blazers' rotation last season. If it works out, it should only further play to the strengths of their size and frontcourt depth, opening up more minutes for the rest of Portland's centers.
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