He's not yet playing at the caliber he needs to for Portland to be a contender.
The Portland Trail Blazers are focused on postseason seeding as they try to navigate the Play-In Tournament and ultimately reach the playoffs. And while that should absolutely be the focus right now, the closer this season gets to ending, the more the future has to enter the conversation.
As promising as this team is, and as many young pieces as Portland has starting to come together, the reality is the Blazers still do not appear to have their true face of the franchise. They do not have that bona fide No. 1 option who can be the best player on a championship team. And as good as Deni Avdija is, it does not appear that he is going to be that level of player, at least not without another major leap or two over the next few seasons.
As of today, he is not that guy.
That is not a knock on Avdija. He has been phenomenal. He was an NBA All-Star this year, and there is even a real argument for him to get All-NBA consideration based on how impactful he has been. But there is a difference between being an excellent player and being the type of top-end star who can lead a team to a title. As of now, Avdija does not look like that level of player, and that is the case for a lot of teams around the league. More than half the NBA does not have a player of that caliber, and that is often what separates the teams that truly contend from the ones that eventually hit a ceiling.
Because of that, Portland has a potential decision to make this offseason or next. Whether that means exploring the idea of trading Avdija while his value is soaring in order to sell high for more draft picks, young players, or even a more proven veteran star, it is at least something the Blazers should think through. The other option, of course, would be keeping Avdija and instead packaging some of Portland’s other promising assets in an effort to bring in a true co-star to play alongside him.
Right now, there is too much inconsistency in who Portland’s best player is on a night-to-night basis. In some ways, that is a positive. It speaks to how balanced this team is and how many different players are capable of stepping up on any given night. But when it comes down to it, the best teams in the league usually have that one guy who is clearly their best player every single night and performs like it consistently.
That is going to be Portland’s biggest question in the short term. What exactly do they do with Avdija? Do they view him as the centerpiece and try to find the right star to put next to him, or do they use his value to pursue a different franchise-caliber player altogether?
However they answer it, that decision could shape the future of the organization.