The Portland Trail Blazers aspire to accelerate their rebuild and continue building off their 15-win improvement from last season. That was apparent in their win-now trade for 35-year-old guard Jrue Holiday.
However, the other moves that Portland has made this offseason -- selecting Yang Hansen, reuniting with Damian Lillard, and signing Blake Wesley -- don't align with that timeline in attempting to win this upcoming season.
Blazers' win-now moves contradict Lillard's recovery timeline
Lillard tore his Achilles in Game 4 of the Milwaukee Bucks playoff series against the Indiana Pacers on April 27. That's not much recovery time for an injury of that severity, meaning Lillard could sit out the entirety of the 2025-26 season.
Lillard's return to Portland was a feel-good story. He was also an ideal and unexpected replacement for Anfernee Simons. The two offensive-minded guards have eerily similar skill sets, with Lillard coming at a discount following his injury.
Concerns surrounding what level Lillard can return to when he finally plays meaningful basketball again are extremely valid. For every successful return like Kevin Durant, there are countless more examples of players who never return to form, which is especially concerning for a 35-year-old Lillard.
But those who have followed Lillard throughout his career know he will work as hard as anyone to return close to 100 percent. He's confident that it's coming to fruition, and who are we to count him out after everything he's done to get to this point in his career?
Even if the Blazers got a discounted version of Simons, in the short term, Portland's offense is going to struggle with Lillard not out there -- to the point where it's going to be challenging to achieve their play-in goal this upcoming season, as evidenced by their 34.5 win total projection on DraftKings.
As good as Portland's defense will be next season, its offense could be even worse. They ranked in the bottom five in three-point efficiency the past two seasons and downgraded further this offseason by swapping high-volume shooter Simons for Holiday.
The silver lining from Lillard's brutal injury is that it gives the Blazers a whole season to evaluate Scoot Henderson in an increased role before determining how to solve their backcourt logjam. But Portland has minimal options behind Henderson, and their combination of a lack of playmaking and floor spacing is an offensive recipe for disaster.
Until Lillard returns, that will remain a massive problem for Portland, which could ultimately cause them to miss out on the play-in race this season.