Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers agreed to a contract extension with head coach Chauncey Billups, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

The Blazers fell on tough times after making the playoffs for eight straight seasons from 2012 to 2021, including a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2019. They're starting to show tangible progress in their rebuild, though.

Billups has had a .550 winning percentage since Jan. 19 – with Blazers ranking in top-five in defense during that span, per ESPN Research – while developing emerging talent in Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Donovan Clingan and Toumani Camara. https://t.co/sCLjGYGwU8

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 13, 2025

With a 35-46 record heading into it finale, Portland has improved its win total by 14 games. That was probably critical toward securing Billups' future because he had a .329 winning percentage through his first three years at the helm.

In fairness to the coach, though, the Blazers have played significantly shorthanded for much of that time as they try to figure out what pieces will work well together for success and patch together rosters due to injuries.

Superstar guard Damian Lillard played just 29 games in 2021-22 after undergoing surgery for an abdominal injury. The team also traded away second-leading scorer C.J. McCollum during that season as they engineered a rebuild around Lillard.

Portland notably added forward Jerami Grant, a capable 20-point-per-game scorer, during the 2022 offseason, as it hoped to compete in 2022-23 with a core of Grant, Lillard, Jusuf Nurkić and Anfernee Simons.

But that year ended up being rife with injuries and inconsistency. Only two players (Shaedon Sharpe and Drew Eubanks) ended up playing more than 63 games. Lillard missed 25 matchups. Twenty-three Blazers took the court for Portland overall.

Portland's defense was also porous, finishing the year fourth-worst in the 30-team NBA in efficiency.

After the season, Lillard issued a trade request, and he was sent to the Milwaukee Bucks. That signaled a rebuilding period for the Blazers, but Portland still had some talent to work with. Namely, the Blazers landed Deandre Ayton and Malcolm Brogdon in the offseason, re-signed Grant, welcomed back Simons and drafted Scoot Henderson at No. 3 overall.

But injuries once again hit Portland hard in 2023-24, and the team never got going en route to an ugly season. Eighteen different players started for Portland, and every Blazer missed 10 or more games. None of the Blazers' top six scorers played more than 55 games.

The 2024-25 season brought more success, as the team notably saw improvements from Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson while enjoying success from newcomers in veteran Deni Avdija and rookie Donovan Clingan. The Blazers were in the mix for making the play-in tournament but fell short.

Management clearly feels Billups needs more time to mold this team. To date, he hasn't had much of a platform to build off for success, and he deserves another chance to make it work.

Before coaching, Billups enjoyed a long and storied NBA career from 1997 to 2014. The five-time All-Star is best known for his time running the Detroit Pistons' backcourt from 2002 to 2008. He and the 2003-04 Pistons notably upset the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals to win the franchise's third title. Billups won NBA Finals MVP honors for his efforts.

He served as an ESPN studio analyst after his career ended, before becoming an assistant coach on the Los Angeles Clippers staff in 2020. The Blazers hired him one year later.

The Portland Trail Blazers agreed to a multiyear contract extension with general manager Joe Cronin on Monday, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Cronin has operated as Portland's general manager since the 2021-22 season.

The Trail Blazers currently sit at 35-44 as they close out their 2024-25 campaign, with 35 victories representing their highest win total throughout Cronin's tenure as general manager.

Portland initially struggled to open the year, owning a 13-28 record through its first 41 games. The Trail Blazers have gone 22-16 in 38 contests since, owning the No. 11 net rating in the league over that stretch (via NBA.com).

Cronin is the midst of his 19th season with Portland, operating in a variety of roles for the organization since 2006. He's served as the team's pro scout, salary cap analyst, director of player personnel and assistant general manager before he was promoted to interim general manager in Dec. 2021.

The turnaround by Portland during its 2024-25 season has been impressive, especially considering several key contributors were acquired by Cronin.

Shaedon Sharpe, who was selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, is averaging a career-high 18.3 points per game while shooting 45.0 percent from the field.

SHAEDON SHARPE DUNK OF THE YEAR?! 🤯🤯🤯

WOW ‼️ pic.twitter.com/omxJooiPKo

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 27, 2025

Deni Avdija has also blossomed into a major contributor after he was added in a trade with the Washington Wizards during the 2024 offseason.

Avdija is recording 16.9 points per game on the season and has particularly excelled as of late. Over his past 20 appearances, the 24-year-old is recording 23.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game on 50.8/41.7/78.2 shooting splits.

Toumani Camara, the No. 52 overall pick in the 2023 draft, is another success story in Portland. Camara has already established himself as one of the league's top two-way players, averaging 11.2 points per game while leading the association with 31 chargers drawn (via NBA.com).

He also earned Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month honors for February.

While the Trail Blazers have officially been eliminated from postseason contention, Cronin still received a reported extension as the team closes out a resurgent year.

The Portland Trail Blazers don't appear to be actively pursuing a trade involving center Robert Williams III.

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Trail Blazers "aren't eager to part ways with Williams just yet" as the team likes his fit alongside young guards Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons.

Fischer noted that there has been "ongoing inbound interest" in the 27-year-old, as he's currently on the Los Angeles Lakers' "wishlist" of centers to target prior to the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

It's easy to see why teams with playoff aspirations would be interested in Williams, as his defensive acumen and athletic finishing ability around the rim allow him to be a consistent contributor without the ball in his hands.

This season, he's averaging 9.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steals in 18.5 minutes per game. Williams has also thrived in the restricted area, connecting on 73.8 percent of his field-goal attempts.

Rob getting our 17-0 run started 👀 pic.twitter.com/5Qcq0shUwT

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) November 18, 2024

While he's shown that he can be an imposing defensive center, injuries have prevented him from staying on the floor for prolonged periods of time throughout his career. Since he was selected by the Boston Celtics with a first-round pick in the 2018 NBA draft, he's made over 60 appearances in a single season just once.

Williams was limited to just six games during his 2023-24 campaign before undergoing season-ending knee surgery, and his 2024-25 debut was delayed until Nov. 8 due to a hamstring strain.

He's under contract for one more season, as he's set to earn $13.3 million for his 2025-26 campaign before entering free agency.

With the presence of Deandre Ayton as well as shot-blocking rookie Donovan Clingan, it may be difficult for Williams to carve out a consistent role in head coach Chauncey Billups' rotation if he can't find a way to stay healthy.

The Lakers and several other teams could come calling for him, but Portland may not attempt to move him until the deadline draws much closer.

The Portland Trail Blazers are garnering interest in forward Jerami Grant, guard Anfernee Simons and center Robert Williams III, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

It's probably not a question of if the Blazers are a seller in the NBA trade market. They're off to an 8-16 start and headed in all likelihood to a fourth straight year without playoff basketball.

Whether Portland executes a total fire sale is probably the biggest source of intrigue with multiple players on the radar of rival teams.

Grant, Simons and Williams are three of the likeliest trade candidates on the Blazers roster.

Grant simply isn't on the same timeline as the franchise due to his age (30). It took almost no time for the entire purpose behind re-signing him on a $160 million contract to become moot after Damian Lillard requested a trade out.

Portland would presumably love to get out from under Grant's deal, and his talents would be better utilized on a contender.

When it comes to Simons, the Trail Blazers will soon have to make a tough decision.

The 6'3" guard is headed for free agency in 2026, and re-signing him may not be a straightforward choice. The front office has invested valuable draft capital in Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson, and building the backcourt around them might be a more sensible plan than paying Simons $30 million or more—his salary maxes out at $27.7 million in 2025-26—to remain a starter or perhaps even serve as a sixth man.

Williams is another member of the free-agent class in 2026, and his persistent injury problems present an even bigger dilemma for Portland. Since arriving as part of the Jrue Holiday trade, he has made 13 total appearances for the team.

Moving the 6'9" rim protector would help to clear the logjam the Blazers have at center with he, Deandre Ayton and 2024 lottery pick Donovan Clingan. Williams relatively modest contract probably makes him easier to move, despite the injury history, than Ayton when Ayton will collect $35.6 million next year.

As the Feb. 6 trade deadline gets closer, the Blazers might become a bigger source of speculation because they have some worthwhile assets and should be motivated to sell.

Damian Lillard will forever be a Portland Trail Blazers legend, but he wasn't happy with a fan account of his former team.

When an account titled blazersnationcp wasn't too concerned with the guard's struggles on the Milwaukee Bucks, he responded by saying, "fake ass mfs."

Dame calls out Blazers fans for being fake pic.twitter.com/sVqPFjNh31

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 19, 2024

Lillard played the first 11 seasons of his career on the Trail Blazers and became a fan favorite as a seven-time All-Star who led the team to the playoffs eight years in a row. Portland advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 2019 during that span and was a regular contender for much of his career.

The future Hall of Famer also became the franchise's all-time leader in points scored and three-pointers and helped define an entire era in the team's history.

He also got quite the reception when he returned to Portland as a visiting player:

Damian Lillard gets a 1 minute standing ovation as his name is introduced tonight pic.twitter.com/AIuMG4dSpK

— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) February 1, 2024

Yet things haven't exactly gone according to plan with the Bucks, as they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Indiana Pacers last season and are just 5-9 in Lillard's second season. There is still plenty of time to turn things around in 2024-25 with no shortage of talent with Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, among others, but it is not the start Milwaukee wanted.

At least one Trail Blazers fan account doesn't seem to mind the Bucks' slow start, though, which sat wrong with Lillard.

Perhaps he can use it as motivation when Milwaukee faces Portland on Jan. 4 and Jan. 28.

Trade rumors have been swirling around Davante Adams this week, and if the Las Vegas Raiders indeed end up moving him—ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Tuesday the Raiders have informed other teams they will "consider" trading him and want a second-round pick and "additional compensation" in return—at least one very prominent fan of the team is out.

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Damian Lillard posted on social media that he is not happy with the rumors surrounding Adams and his fandom is one the line:

If the Raiders trade Tae for a damn 2nd round pick I’m done.

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) October 1, 2024

Lillard, who is from Oakland—the home of the Raiders between the 1960-81 and 1995-19 seasons—has always been both a vocal supporter, and critic, of his favorite NFL team.

He has the ink to prove it:

Looks like @Dame_Lillard got some new ink this summer, including a @RAIDERS tattoo pic.twitter.com/TBOmD2EzR7

— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) July 4, 2018

That support survived the team's relocation to Las Vegas in 2020, though Lillard called that decision a "loss for the city" while speaking with Sam Gordon of the Las Vegas Review-Journal in Nov. 2020.

"That just looks kind of weird," he added of seeing the team in Vegas. "It was like a reminder that they're really in Vegas. They're not playing in Oakland ever again. That was the only time where I was just like, 'Damn, they're really gone.'"

And Lillard has also understood in the past if players like Adams might want to depart during periods of struggle for the Raiders. Here's what he had to say following a 27-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Nov. 2022:

If Crosby, Tae, and Waller get tf out of Vegas I wouldn’t be mad at em.. this bad

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) November 6, 2022

This time around, however, Lillard doesn't seem to have the stomach for losing Adams at such a modest price point. Sometimes, fans just hit a breaking point, and Raiders fans like Lillard have been forced to endure a lot of disappointment in recent years.

Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton will be honored by the Portland Trail Blazers throughout the 2024-25 season.

The Blazers announced on Thursday that they will wear a band with Walton's No. 32 on their jersey for the entirety of the upcoming season and that there will be a special Walton tribute night as part of festivities for their March 9 game against the Detroit Pistons.

The Portland Trail Blazers will honor late Rip City legend Bill Walton with a band on their jerseys throughout the 2024-25 season.

Team to Host Bill Walton Tribute Night on March 9 vs. Detroit

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) September 26, 2024

As part of the tribute night game, the Blazers are encouraging fans to wear tie-dye clothing and they will receive a special tie-dye headband "so they can rock Bill's classic style."

Walton died on May 27 at the age of 71 after previously being diagnosed with cancer.

The NBA held a moment of silence for Walton before Game 1 of the Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

The Blazers selected Walton with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft. He entered the league after a storied four-year run at UCLA from 1970 to '74. His college accolades include being named National Player of the Year three times, winning back-to-back national titles in 1971-72 and 1972-73 and being named Final Four Most Outstanding Player twice.

Walton's professional career was hindered by injuries, but he had a profound impact on the court when he did play. He averaged 18.9 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game during the 1977-78 season to win the NBA MVP award.

The Blazers won the NBA title during the 1976-77 season, with Walton earning Finals MVP honors. He averaged 18.5 points, 19.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the six-game series against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Walton's No. 32 jersey was retired by the Trail Blazers in 1989. He is one of 10 players in franchise history to have their number retired.

After retiring from the NBA following the 1987-88 season, Walton was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame five years later. He was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2006.

The Portland Trail Blazers head into another NBA season with their gaze firmly fixated on the draft lottery.

Portland's first year without Damian Lillard went about as expected as the team finished with the worst record in the Western Conference (21-61). The 2024-25 campaign is likely going to offer more of the same after the Blazers made few upgrades to the roster.

Deni Avdija is coming off a career year, averaging 14.7 points and shooting 37.4 percent from beyond the arc. He brings some secondary scoring and floor-spacing but isn't a major difference-maker in terms of wins and losses.

Donovan Clingan, the No. 7 overall pick, probably won't even start right away since he joined a frontcourt that includes Deandre Ayton.

Those two aside, Portland is pretty much running it back with last year's squad.

The best-case scenario for the Blazers is that they lose a lot of games, see their younger players take positive strides in their development, and then win the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. Although that's not a vision you necessarily want to sell to the public, the fanbase is well aware of the organization's long road back to contention.

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2024-25 Trail Blazers Schedule Details

Season Opener:

Championship Odds: +100000 (bet $100 to win $100,000), per FanDuel

Full Schedule: The full schedule is available on the team's official site.

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Top Matchups

Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets

These four teams are all grouped together because they're the Blazers' stiffest competition in the 2025 lottery (aka the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes).

Flagg is the No. 1 overall recruit in 247Sports' composite rankings for the 2024 class, and he drew rave reviews with the USA select team as the United States trained for the Summer Olympics in Paris.

Barring an unforeseen development, the Duke freshman will be a one-and-done and lead every mock draft between now and next summer.

Next year's draft class features some impressive prospects beyond Flagg, too, so failing to get the No. 1 pick but staying in the top five will mean having the opportunity to land an impact player.

The Blazers are right there in the mix to be the worst team in the NBA, or at least one that finishes with the bottom three and thus has a 14 percent chance of winning the lottery.

The Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets have the same goal in mind. The Nets in particular made a sizable pivot when they traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks.

The head-to-head results between Portland the quartet listed above will a clear influence on the top of the lottery order.

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Season Forecast

If nothing else, the Blazers' luck should turn around a bit. Ayton, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe all played fewer than 60 games in 2023-24. Robert Williams III logged just six appearances before he needed knee surgery.

Having those five stay healthy would add a few wins.

But so much of this roster is potentially in flux.

Just based on the organization's priorities, Portland would probably jump at the chance to trade Ayton or Grant if the right deal—or any deal—materialized between now and the trade deadline. Simons only has two years left on his current deal, so he's approaching a pivotal point in shaping his long-term future. Williams, who's also two years from free agency, would presumably have suitors if he's effective in his return to the court.

Adding on to that, plenty of questions still surround the players who the Blazers are hopeful of being foundational pieces.

Scoot Henderson is a major work in progress after he had a rookie season to forget. Sharpe's core muscle injury made it difficult to draw any conclusions from Year 2 in the NBA. 2023 first-round pick Kris Murray only hit 26.8 percent of his threes.

Leaning even harder into a youth movement could produce some ugly results on the court in the short term.

Ultimately, the Trail Blazers will probably finish right around where they did in 2023-24.

Record Prediction: 23-59

Trading away guard Anfernee Simons or forward Jerami Grant before training camp is "definitely the goal" for the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Aaron Fentress of the Oregonian.

"Both being gone, that might be different," he said during an appearance on The Drive Guys on Sactown Sports 1140. "They obviously have time. They can wait to the trade deadline and see if someone else will offer more."

Fentress added that Simons has "got to go at some point soon," citing the presence of guards Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. While Simons is still only 25, he doesn't appear to be a long-term piece for the Blazers amid their ongoing rebuild.

On Grant, Fentress said the situation differs because he isn't standing in the way of another young forward who projects as a major contributor down the line. The 30-year-old will probably relish a change of scenery sooner or later, though, with Portland going nowhere for the time being.

Fentress believes both Grant and Simons "will be gone by next summer."

The Athletic's Jovan Buha reported last Thursday on his podcast the Los Angeles Lakers continue to show interest in Grant but aren't willing to part with the two first-round picks Portland is seeking for the 6'7" forward.

Grant continued to perform well in 2023-24. He averaged 21.0 points on 45.1 percent shooting, including 40.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Still, it seems fairly clear at this point Grant isn't suited to play a starring role on a contending team. His last four years with the Blazers and Detroit Pistons provide plenty of evidence backing up that idea.

And even with the salary cap increasing, the $132.4 million he's owed over the next four seasons hurts his trade value further because the more punitive luxury tax is forcing teams to be financially conservative.

The concerns are somewhat similar with Simons in that he's an undersized guard (6'3") whose individual contributions as a starter haven't done much to make Portland a winning team.

There's a financial component as well. His scoring and three-point shooting (38.6 percent for his career) make him an attractive target, but interested suitors might be looking ahead to his free agency in 2026.

The trouble for the Blazers with both Grant and Simons is that everyone can see neither likely has much of a future in Portland past their current contracts. The front office can only hold out for so long before it has to settle for the best offer on the table.