Portland Trail Blazers Media day starts at 9 am on Monday, September 28th. The Blazers 2026 training camp opens up the next day.
This one feels particularly important this time around. Expectations are higher after ending a four-year playoff drought, especially with stars like Ja Morant and Damian Lillard now leading the backcourt.
Here's how the Blazers players' stocks are trending heading into training camp following their offseason moves.
Portland Trail Blazers stock report
Donovan Clingan
Donovan Clingan took a huge leap in Year 2 after becoming Portland's full-time starter. There's no reason for that ascension not to continue at just 22.
This offseason, the Blazers did a great job of surrounding Clingan with frontcourt depth while still making it clear he's their top option at center. He should be even more important this season, anchoring the middle and covering for their new undersized guard duo.
Stock: Up
Scoot Henderson
The fact that Scoot Henderson hasn't reached an extension as we approach October already tells you where his stock is trending.
Henderson was already set to take a backseat to Lillard coming back from his torn Achilles. Portland surprisingly pushed him further down the depth chart after taking a trade flyer on Morant.
At least he is improving as a 3-and-D guard to carve out an off-ball role, but it's becoming increasingly likely Henderson has lost the keys to his offense.
Stock: Down
Deni Avdija
Deni Avdija's stock is trending up because he's had a full offseason to recover from a back injury that affected him down the stretch last season. The Blazers didn't even want Avdija to play for Israel this summer.
The one downside from this offseason is that Portland brought in all these playmakers, threatening to take the ball out of his hands. If head coach Micah Nori can turn Morant, Lillard, and other guards into secondary playmakers while continuing to prioritize Avdija as the point forward, he could be in for an even better 2026-27.
Stock: Up
Shaedon Sharpe
Shaedon Sharpe's stock is unfortunately the furthest down, largely to no fault of his own.
It was trending downwards anyway after he fell out of Tiago Splitter's playoff rotation against the Spurs. The Nori hiring gave Sharpe a new, much-needed opportunity to reinsert himself as a key part of this young core. Similar to Henderson, that's no longer the case after sliding down the depth chart in a crowded and confusing backcourt.
To make matters worse for Sharpe, he's now set to miss roughly six months due to a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee.
Compared to Henderson, at least Sharpe has the four-year, $90 million extension he signed before last season. But if Henderson proves he fits well in this new-look backcourt in Sharpe's absence, he could quickly become the odd man out.
Stock: Down
Ja Morant
Ja Morant joins a messy backcourt where he's an imperfect fit and may not even start. But generally speaking, I can't think of a better city for him to land in than Portland. The city as a whole seems to be embracing his fresh start well. Morant fits in well too as a creative, unique, oftentimes misunderstood person.
On the court, the fit is admittedly murky at best. But the Blazers do have a strong infrastructure of on-court veterans like Holiday and Lillard. It's hard to name many better guards to make sure he's on the right path and welcomed into this change of scenery, which we think will ultimately benefit Morant after his stock rapidly declined in Memphis.
Stock: Up
Yang Hansen
The Blazers' offseason moves, particularly in the frontcourt, say a lot about where Yang Hansen stands in his developmental timeline. We could've already assumed that based on last year's concerningly bad rookie season, which had fans questioning whether this was really the pick the front office wanted to make.
Hansen failed to crack Splitter's rotation last season, and the interim coach said he had to be careful because he didn't want to "throw him into the fire."
Hansen could have an even more difficult time carving out minutes in the 2026-27 season. Portland has signed Branden Carlson, Micah Potter, and Jeremy Sochan. I don't even know if Sochan will make their final 15-man roster, but he's still better than Hansen right now.
The Blazers have immediate win-now expectations after reaching the playoffs last year, especially under new owner Tom Dundon. Nori is only guaranteed one year of his three-year deal. Does he really want to risk his first head coaching job by letting Hansen touch the court? Not when he has all these other options at his disposal.
Stock: Down
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