Top 3 Priorities for Portland Trail Blazers During 2026 NBA Offseason
The Portland Trail Blazers' 2025-26 campaign didn't end in glory, but no one was really expecting it to. And there's reason for plenty of optimism heading into this offseason.
Portland's core is young (Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson and Donovan Clingan are all under 26). The team just finished over .500 and smashed its preseason over-under.
A slow and steady approach to the next few years (especially with Damian Lillard coming back) would make plenty of sense.
That doesn't mean there aren't needs to address over the next few months, though. Every organization, regardless of where it is, makes tweaks in the offseason.
And we have the three that should be top priorities for the Blazers below.
3. Trade Jerami Grant
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With Lillard and Jrue Holiday coming back next season, there's no urgency to move on from Jerami Grant, but his current contract has made little to no sense for this organization from the moment it was signed.
With the continued emergence of Avdija, Camara and Henderson, and Robert Williams III's upcoming free agency, it makes sense to try to move Grant for a similar-sized player who actually does a little more traditional power forward-like "stuff."
Grant has hit 39.0 percent of his three-point attempts since joining the Blazers ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, but he doesn't protect the paint and his rebound rate is abysmal.
Moving him for someone who more thoroughly checks those boxes could go a long way toward softening the blow on Williams' potential departure.
2. Extend Scoot Henderson
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Deni Avdija is extension-eligible, and keeping him around long-term is obviously more important than extending Scoot Henderson.
However, Avdija's current contract is so far below market level that a new deal signed this season could only start at $16.6 million per year. If he waits till he hits unrestricted free agency, he'll get offers that triple that number.
So that brings us back to Henderson, who's struggled to live up to the pre-draft hype that followed him into the NBA but has shown some signs of upside recently.
Over his last 18 games, Henderson averaged 15.9 points and 3.3 assists in 26.2 minutes, while shooting 42.9 percent from deep. He's still only 22 years old. Even with Lillard and Holiday on the books, that's the profile of a player worth keeping and developing.
In fact, the better take may be that Henderson is worth keeping especially with those two veterans around. Both are past their primes. They need an heir. And it would be hard to find two guards better for Henderson to learn about point guard play, leadership and professionalism from than Lillard and Holiday.
Thanks to his struggles with availability and consistency, Portland should probably be able to keep Henderson with a modest extension. And that could pay dividends a few years down the road.
1. Reintegrate Damian Lillard
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Damian Lillard will be 36 during the 2026-27 campaign. Even without an Achilles tear, he was almost certainly going to be on his way down. With it, it's fair to wonder if he'll be able to play at anywhere near the level he was before the injury.
But even with the questions, and assuming Lillard can only approximate 75-80 percent of his pre-injury value, adding him to this Blazers rotation should make it significantly more dangerous.
Portland was tied for the third-worst three-point percentage in the league this season. Lillard, presumably, can help there, especially if he's willing to be more of a catch-and-shoot threat than he's been in the past.
At this point in his career, and with Avdija being on the team, Lillard should embrace having a high-level playmaker like Avdija who'll kick out to him. As he transitions to more of a shooting guard role, he could probably even play some minutes alongside Holiday or Henderson.
The Blazers were above .500 this season with Lillard taking up a roster spot and not playing a single minute. If they're able to figure out the best way to use the next version of him, Lillard may be one of 2026-27's biggest luxuries.
