Deni Avdija is having an All-Star-level breakout in his second season with the Portland Trail Blazers. He's now officially emerged as Portland's clear-cut best player. However, this raises the question of what Portland's actual ceiling can be with Avdija in that role.
This season, Avdija is averaging a well-rounded 26.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists on 49/38/85 shooting splits. For as great as he's looked, it's also apparent that he's best suited as a secondary, or more likely, a tertiary option on a true contender.
Portland is now 6-6 and looks on track to be in the play-in hunt, but they are still fighting an uphill battle in terms of ending a four-year playoff drought. Last year's Finals matchup between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder showed that depth is crucial. But don't let that distract you from the fact that teams with the best player on the court have a significant advantage in a playoff series.
That's an even bigger problem for Portland, considering they will eventually have to get through the gauntlet of the Western Conference. No matter how elite Portland's defense is, I'm picking the team that has Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic, or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over a Deni Avdija-led offense.
What is Portland's ceiling with Deni Avdija as their best player?
Portland is rightfully taking a long-term rebuilding approach with promising signs of improvement each season. But eventually, they must ask themselves what it is they are patiently building towards? As constructed, this team isn't on a contending trajectory. That puts them at risk of purgatory if they are unable to add a superstar into the mix, which is much easier said than done.
Damian Lillard is adamant about returning to form following his Achilles tear, but history suggests otherwise. Shaedon Sharpe is having a breakout season at 22 years old, but he will never be the missing piece unless he becomes a more consistent three-level scorer. And who knows what Portland has on its hands with rookie Yang Hansen, who was recently assigned to the G League after falling out of the Blazers' rotation.
In other words, Portland can't rely on any of its internal options to be the solution to its superstar problem. Their best bet to land that piece could be via the draft, but that's only going to get harder the better they get (with the exception of the Milwaukee Bucks' future picks).
They could trade for a superstar, but it's a fine line, as Portland doesn't want to go all in too early. Not only do they need to wait for their young core to develop to the point where they can support a superstar, but they also want to make sure it's the right player if it's an all-in move. This is the riskiest path of all, as it could be the very thing that derails their future if things go south (ask the Phoenix Suns how their Kevin Durant trade worked out).
So, while it's great that Avdija is taking his game to another level and emerging as a genuine star in Portland, the Blazers still need to look ahead and consider what the ceiling of this team actually is. Teams like the Spurs and Thunder are positioning themselves to be dominant for years to come, while the Blazers remain a step behind out west.
Avdija may have solved the question of Portland's best player, but they still have a star power problem.