The Portland Trail Blazers are coming off their most successful season in four years. Now, it is on to the offseason, where the Blazers are expected to be active.
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Despite a ton of injuries and dealing with an early-season coaching change, Portland finished eighth in the Western Conference at 42-40. The Trail Blazers secured their first playoff appearance since 2020-21 and the seventh seed with a victory over the Phoenix Suns in the 7-8 Play-In game.
Portland struggled all season shooting the ball. The Trail Blazers, who ranked 20th in the NBA in offensive efficiency, finished 29th in shooting at 45.3%. While the Blazers were seventh with 14.5 threes a game, they were just 28th in 3-point percentage at 34.3%. They also did a great job getting to the foul line, but ranked 24th in free-throw percentage (76.5%).
Defense was an issue for Portland as well. The Trail Blazers ranked in the top half of the league in defensive effective field goal percentage (54.1%) and were 14th in defensive efficiency. Fouling and defensive rebounding were their biggest issues.
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Portland pushed the San Antonio Spurs hard in their first-round series before bowing out in five games. The Trail Blazers won Game 2, but their shooting woes ultimately did them in. The Blazers were held to under the century mark in three of the five games, and they didn’t score over 108 points in the series. They finished the first round of the playoffs with an offensive rating of 102.2, as they ranked 15th in effective field goal percentage and dead last in true shooting percentage.
“I think the obvious thing is, you know, we just need to be a better shooting team,” Damian Lillard said on Friday. “I think when you’ve got a guy like Deni [Avdija], who’s constantly getting downhill and in the paint and, you know, forcing teams to have to help is going to generate good shots, you know, is going to generate opportunities. And we got to be able to capitalize on that.
Lillard, a high-volume 3-point shooter, missed all of last season due to a torn Achilles. The 35-year-old averages 3.1 threes a game at a 37.1% clip. But, he is at his best when getting into the teeth of the defense, creating for himself and others.
“You know I’m going to be in the paint, I’m gonna get around my guy,” Lillard continued. “And teams are going to help. You know I know that I’ll get attention. And it’s going to lead to open shots as well.”
Robert Williams led the team with a 72.2% true shooting percentage, but he is strictly a threat around the rim. Meanwhile, Jerami Grant‘s 60.8% true shooting percentage was tops among perimeter threats and a career high. Donovan Clingan and Avdija were the only other Blazers with a true shooting percentage of 60% or better.
The Trail Blazers have 12 players under contract for 2026-27 and are $4.6 million over the salary cap. The Blazers are $30.8 million under the tax line. They do have some flexibility to get under the salary cap, with Vit Krejci ($2.66 million) and Sidy Cissoko ($2.46 million) holding non-guaranteed deals.
Williams and Matisse Thybulle are their key free agents. The Trail Blazers don’t have any draft picks in 2026, with their first-round pick going to Chicago. The Blazers do have eight first-round draft picks for 2027-2032.
