Portland Trail Blazers 2024-25 Season Preview: Can One of Their Young Talents Develop into a Star?

The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We break down the top questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy outlooks for all 30 teams. Enjoy!

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZER

End of 2023-24

Off-season moves

• Additions: Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan, Bryce McGowans

• Subtractions: Malcolm Brogdon, Ibou Badji, Moses Brown, Ashton Hagans

• Full roster

The big question: Is there really a foundation stone here?

If you're a fan of a very bad team that's in the midst of rebuilding, look for a reason to believe. Something to hold onto as a vessel for your hopes for a better future, and ideally even oneone: Devin Booker on the pre-CP3 Suns, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the early decade Thunder, Victor Wembanyama on last year's Spurs, et al.

That's not it shocking that Portland doesn't really have that yet, barely a year after the franchise-shattering decision to say goodbye to Damian Lillard. But even after the West's worst record in Year 1 after Dame – the fourth sub-.500 finish for the Blazers in the last five seasons – this squad still feels like a collection of free-floating celestial bodies in search of a big bright star to pull it into an appropriate prescribed orbit.

The Blazers' two highest-paid players, forward Jerami Grant and center Deandre Ayton, are both productive veterans, but neither of them emerges as an organizing principle of that sort. Ayton came off the bench late in his first season at Oregon and scored after the All-Star break averaged 22.7 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. However, his long-term prognosis in Portland became significantly murkier when the Blazers drafted the 7-foot-7 Clingan with the seventh overall pick in the June 2024 NBA Draft.

Grant, one of just five players to average 20 points per game and shoot 40% from 3-point range in each of the last two seasons, could also be a player of interest on the trade market… if prospects can snag an opportunity , to take on the remainder of his massive five-year, $160 million contract without getting into trouble. For his part, Avdija (who played very well last season, albeit in near-total anonymity on a bad Wizards team without much of a national profile) occupies a similar position to Grant – a capable combo forward who can fill multiple gaps on both ends of the floor , but more of a star-in-his-role addition than a real No. 1.

Anfernee Simons has the athleticism, space and precision 3-point shooting ability, and ability to score on the fly to potentially develop into a top option. (His production per possession in recent seasons is actually pretty consistent with what Lillard produced at the same age.) But a smaller combo guard who is more of a natural scorer than a playmaker (he hovered close to being a good one , but not a good player) Great assist-to-turnover ratio of 2 to 1 since I've been a starter) And A glaring red target on the other end (a set of advanced defensive stats made him one of the worst defenders in the league last season) is a difficult figure unless he is undeniably a top offensive talent. (And honestly, even then. See “Hawks, Atlanta.”)

The spotlight then falls on the Blazers other two highly touted young guards: 21-year-old Shaedon Sharpe and 20-year-old Scoot Henderson. The promising start to Sharpe's second season – nearly 19 points, six rebounds and four assists per game on .550 true shooting through the first 22 games – was shattered by a core muscle injury that ultimately required surgery. Hopes for a similarly strong start to year three have already received a blow: a second torn labrum in his left shoulder that is expected to keep him out of action for at least the first few weeks of the season.

One (slight) silver lining for Sharpe's late return: It paves the way for Henderson, who struggled mightily after going third overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, to establish himself as a real building block.

Achieving that will require a dramatic uptick in shooting after Henderson endured a difficult freshman season, posting an incredible 47.3% shooting percentage (the latter among 237 players who completed at least 100 close-range attempts). And only 35% on all attempts outside the restricted area. If you can't reach the cup or If you knock down enough jumpers to make your opponents honor you at the rim, you'll have an awfully hard time being a consistently positive offensive force, no matter how explosive you are off the dribble.

Without significant progress as a finisher or pick-and-roll facilitator, it's hard to imagine Henderson developing into a true cornerstone of Portland's future puzzle. However, if he can make a big jump in one or both respects, he becomes a much more interesting prospect – one that, along with Clingan, Sharpe and general manager Joe Cronin selecting him, is overwhelmingly likely to be an early pick in the season is 2025 NBA Draft, could one day form the core of the next true Blazers team. At the moment, however, that day still seems a long way off.

Best case scenario

Ayton, Grant, Avdija and Simons spend the first half of the season creating some semblance of a stable infrastructure in which to evaluate Sharpe, Henderson, Clingan and the rest of Portland's young talent. Some of them are showing real signs of growth and development – the kind of sparks and flickers that really boost these guys' confidence may Become the foundation of what comes next. And then, with this new belief in hand, Cronin is able to spin off several of the veterans – most notably one of Ayton or Robert Williams III – to reduce Portland's positional redundancy and clear the runway for Clingan and the guards to can experience their growing pains and at the same time paves the way for another top tip to strengthen and consolidate the young core.

When everything falls apart

Scoot still can't shoot, Sharpe and Simons still struggle to contribute without the ball in their hands, neither of them can defend – and worse, neither of them can stay healthy and available at the same time, what Cronin and head coach Chauncey prevented It's worth getting an honest assessment of which combinations could be promising. The market for Portland's highest-paid veterans is proving cool enough for Grant and Ayton to stay and help the Blazers win more games than they honestly would have liked before drafting Cooper Flagg. The season ends not with a bang, but with a whimper in the Pacific Northwest: out of the play-in, out of the top of the draft, in the muddy middle of the league's minor leagues, with no sign of a clear path back up .

Fantasy spin

Portland is one of the least intriguing teams in fantasy basketball. I drafted Simons willingly because his ADP is affordable in the seventh round, even though he might be snagged in the eighth round. When it comes to drafting Ayton, I'd rather wait a round or two to get a big man that doesn't cost a fifth-round pick.

Grant will likely find his way to another team at some point, but until then he's only useful for points and 3s – even his ADP is slipping slightly. Avdija is a player I expect to exceed his ADP. He's an 11th-round sleeper with versatile fantasy skills. Henderson is better suited to scoring leagues, but if you can tolerate his inefficiency and turnovers, he could make a good point source and help on the back end of drafts. – Dan Titus

2024-25 schedule

There's eternal hope in the preseason – which in this case means the Blazers will both perform poorly And are able to offload their helpful veterans with enough time to really rack up the L's in the back half of the schedule. I'll take the bottom one; It wouldn't surprise me if this year's model rivals the 1971-72 Crew as the worst team in franchise history.

More season previews

East: Atlanta Hawks • Boston Celtics • Brooklyn Nets • Charlotte Hornets • Chicago Bulls • Cleveland Cavaliers • Detroit Pistons • Indiana Pacers • Miami Heat • Milwaukee Bucks • New York Knicks • Orlando Magic • Philadelphia 76ers • Toronto Raptors • Washington Wizards

West: Dallas Mavericks • Denver Nuggets • Golden State Warriors • Houston Rockets • Los Angeles Clippers • Los Angeles Lakers • Memphis Grizzlies • Minnesota Timberwolves • New Orleans Pelicans • Oklahoma City Thunder • Phoenix Suns • Portland Trail Blazers • Sacramento Kings • San Antonio Spurs • Utah jazz