Deni Avdija has been absolutely unreal for the Portland Trail Blazers this season. He's almost singlehandedly carried an injured roster into the playoff conversation. But eventually the Blazers will have to take that next leap in their rebuild, going from a borderline playoff team to a legitimate contender.
That's where the conversation surrounding Avdija as Portland's face of the franchise gets complicated. As great as he's been, Avdija is ideally a secondary option on a title contender, not an alpha.
Deni Avdija can't be the Blazers' go-to option if they want to become a contender
He's arguably emerged as a top-25 player this season, drastically exceeding expectations. That alone should have Blazers fans thrilled about their future outlook and how this trade is aging. But being a top 20-25 player also means that, if he's Portland's best player, they're still losing the star power battle compared to most teams in the league. That's problematic for their chances of making a deep playoff run going forward.
The Blazers must look at the big picture and who they realistically have to go through to reach the Finals in the coming years. The Oklahoma City Thunder are on track to be the league's next dynasty with a young roster and more future assets than they know what to do with. The San Antonio Spurs have a literal alien in Victor Wembanyama, who is somehow only 22 years old and almost certainly going to become the best player in the league if he's able to stay healthy.
Avdija's star breakout has helped close the gap out west, but it's clear the Blazers are still going to need more help. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic recently compared him to Jaylen Brown as that 1B star on a contender.
So who's the Blazers' version of Jayson Tatum? That's not quite as clear. Landing that top ten talent is easier said than done, especially for a relatively small market like Portland that doesn't have a history of attracting these top-tier talents.
The Blazers have been mentioned as potential buyers at the Feb. 5 trade deadline, but even the top targets -- Jaren Jackson Jr., Trey Murphy III, etc. -- don't quite fit the criteria as the Batman to Avdija's Robin. That's why it could make sense for Portland to hold out on making a significant splash until a bigger fish comes around.
Ultimately, their best bet to land said player could still be via the draft. While that's going to be harder with their own picks decreasing in value with an ascending roster, those Milwaukee Bucks picks look better than ever. That realistically could be the path to landing a Tatum-level player. But with those picks not set to convey until 2028, the Blazers will have a challenging task of balancing patience while trying to get back to the postseason.