The debate over who really runs the Portland Trail Blazers has flared up again since Ja Morant's arrival this summer, and ONE's roundup of American commentary lands firmly on one side: this is still Deni Avdija's team, and it should stay that way until Morant proves otherwise on the floor.
Portland acquired the two-time All-Star guard from the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade that sent Jerami Grant and Kris Murray back to Memphis, ending a turbulent chapter of Morant's career and handing the Blazers a genuine offensive weapon when healthy.
But as ONE notes, the framing among Portland-focused analysts, including a widely cited piece from Rip City Project, is that the trade only works if the Blazers remember whose team this has become. "This is still Avdija's world and Morant is just living in it," the outlet's analysis argued.
The case for Avdija is not sentimental. The Israeli forward turned in a breakout season that culminated in his first NBA All-Star selection, becoming the first Trail Blazer picked since Damian Lillard in 2023 and the first Israeli ever named to the All-Star Game.
He averaged 25.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game this past season, ranking among just three players in the league to hit that combined statistical mark, while starting every game he played and anchoring Portland's offense as a point-forward.
That role, commentators warn, is exactly what could be squeezed if the Blazers lean too heavily on Morant as a traditional lead guard. Rip City Project's analysis put it bluntly: limiting Avdija to a standard wing rather than a primary ball-handler "is to take away part of what makes him a special talent."
Portland's season ended with a five-game playoff exit to the San Antonio Spurs, and the front office's answer was to add star power around Avdija rather than replace him at the top of the rotation. The roster now features Morant alongside Avdija, Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday, a genuinely loaded backcourt-and-wing mix by recent Blazers standards.
The comparison American analysts keep reaching for is Jalen Brunson's Knicks: a team built patiently around a home-grown centerpiece who earned his standing through availability and winning basketball, not name recognition, and who shouldn't be nudged aside the moment a bigger name walks through the door.
For Avdija, the coming season now carries a different kind of pressure than the one that made him an All-Star. He built Portland's culture during a stretch when the roster around him was thin; the test now is whether that culture survives the arrival of a player with Morant's talent, and his baggage.
How Blazers coaching staff choose to split ball-handling duties between Morant and Avdija will be one of the more closely watched subplots of the NBA offseason, and the answer will say plenty about how Portland actually views its two stars heading into the new campaign.
