Deni Avdija's All-Star breakout was the most important storyline for the Portland Trail Blazers last season. His well-rounded game as a do-it-all wing proved to be exactly what this roster needed, especially with the amount of injuries that piled up.
That forced interim head coach Tiago Splitter to rely on Avdija in more of a point-forward role, a progression that seemed underway under Chancey Billups. Billups took a patient approach when it came to Avdija's turnovers in particular, understanding it was part of the growing pains for Avdija to raise his ceiling for both himself and the Blazers.
Blazers need to continue prioritizing Deni Avdija
They never would've secured the seven seed and a 42-40 record had it not been for Avdija's ability to initiate the offense. That even proved to be a blessing in disguise for their offense, as his positional size and well-rounded skill set presented matchup problems as a jumbo guard that only a few stars in the league are capable of.
Cade Cunningham and Luka Doncic come to mind as those jumbo guards, utilizing their rare combination of positional size and skill set to create matchup problems on a nightly basis. Portland finally has one of its own, which makes general manager Joe Cronin's trade for the Washington Wizards' rising star look that much better two seasons later.
The one concern surrounding Avdija's growth compared to Cunningham, Doncic, and other jumbo guards able to create that difficult perimeter matchup advantage around the league is that he's not the only one who is the clear-cut priority.
With Doncic in particular, the Los Angeles Lakers and general manager Rob Pelinka finally constructed their roster around his strengths and weaknesses. The blockbuster trade for Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler finally gave him that center he thrived with in Dallas.
With Avdija, the Blazers don't necessarily have a blueprint to follow. They deserve credit for unlocking his point-forward skillset better than the Wizards likely ever would. The Blazers' ability to pinpoint Avdija's talent, trade for him, and make him the priority of the offense all paid off major dividends last season.
It even saved their rebuilding trajectory, making up for the uncertain futures of former top-ten picks Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson, who started this entire rebuild.
Ja Morant trade carries risk for Deni Avdija
But that emergence by Avdija only makes it that much more puzzling that the Blazers didn't double down on his breakout this offseason. It's almost as if they won the bet but decided not to cash in all of the chips.
Instead, they placed some of that bet on Morant. That may not have come with risk in the traditional trade sense, parting ways with a frustrating Kris Murray and a negative asset in Jerami Grant. But this season, the risk surrounding Morant is that he gets in the way of the success the Blazers have previously established.
It's not a coincidence that Avdija's All-Star breakout happened to be the first time this young roster reached the postseason. Now the obvious next move is to surround Avdija with those complementary pieces. Lillard's return from his gap year will provide much-needed floor spacing for Avdija's downhill attack. What does Morant offer to build off Portland's newest rising star?
The one positive takeaway is that he provides a secondary offensive initiator, easing the playmaking burden from Avdija. That was a problem last season and could still certainly provide value for Portland, but only if they use Morant within the context to address their existing flaws.
Should they start viewing him as a focal point of this rebuild rather than a complementary piece to their existing group that already reached the playoffs without him, this trade could quickly go from good value to a hindrance to Avdija and Portland's existing young core.
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