The Wisest Moves the Portland Trail Blazers Have Made
On Wednesday, we tackled a Blazer’s Edge Mailbag question highlighting some of the more questionable decisions the Portland Trail Blazers have made in recent years. We mentioned a few examples, and readers generously contributed many more in the comments.
Although it wasn’t directly asked, I felt it was only fair to also highlight some of the smart moves the Blazers have pulled off over the past five years or so. It’s important to balance the discussion. So, just like in Wednesday’s post, I’ll share a couple of standout examples, and you can add any you think I missed.
The clearest savvy move was insisting that Phoenix Suns forward Toumani Camara be included in the trade that sent Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic to the Milwaukee Bucks. At the time, Camara was a relatively unknown second-round pick from the 2023 NBA Draft. Since joining Portland on a modest $2 million-a-year deal, he has blossomed into an All-NBA Defensive Team caliber player. Last season, he led the team by playing in 78 games and logged more minutes than anyone else — nearly 300 minutes more than the next closest teammate. This not only shows his durability but also the confidence the coaching staff has in him, which is impressive for a player in just his second year.
The second smart move echoes the first and is similarly straightforward. The Blazers acquired versatile forward Deni Avdija by trading Malcolm Brogdon and their second-best pick (out of three) in the 2029 NBA Draft. Avdija, a former lottery pick, proved to be a jack of all trades for Portland. Though officially listed as a small forward, he defended players from point guard through power forward, often took on point guard duties offensively, and delivered several standout scoring games during a strong season. Like Camara, Avdija is locked into a very team-friendly contract—earning $15 million this past year, with a decline to $12 million in the final season of his deal (2027-28).
It’s almost unbelievable that the Blazers secured two quality starters—one performing at an elite defensive level—at a combined cost under $18 million annually, roughly equivalent to a mid-level exception in today’s market.
The third smart move is more speculative but revolves around salary cap management. Even before trading Lillard, Portland wrestled with cap challenges, repeatedly hitting the luxury tax threshold despite not being a top-tier team. While they haven’t completely solved this issue, they have managed to improve the roster post-Lillard without incurring hefty tax penalties and have cleverly positioned themselves with a potential “escape hatch” to create meaningful cap space by the summer of 2026. This would require moving veteran players, but they’ve carved out a possible path forward. Successfully trading Lillard, adding talent, and avoiding crushing cap burdens was no easy feat. The main downside is the team has yet to post a winning record, which is a significant caveat. Still, at least they’re starting to emerge from a tough period and can begin planning their next chapter.
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