Training camp in Portland has opened with a problem most teams would love to have: too many players who need the ball, and not enough room in the starting five.
The Portland Trail Blazers traded for Ja Morant this summer. They had already brought back Damian Lillard in 2025 while he recovered from a torn Achilles, and Deni Avdija grew into an All-Star last season as the team’s main creator.
Three Ball Handlers, One Lineup
At media day on Tuesday, Lillard said he expects to start alongside Avdija and Morant. First-year head coach Micah Nori was less certain. He told The Athletic that pairing Lillard and Morant in the starting five does not make much sense.
Avdija is a lock to start. The real question is who joins him. A Lillard and Morant backcourt would struggle badly on defense, and Morant’s shaky jumper would shrink the floor for Avdija.
Lillard looks like the cleaner fit. He can space the floor when Avdija runs the offense and still punish teams in the pick and roll. That points to the Ja Morant bench option, where he would run the second unit with the ball in his hands.
A Tough First Test for Micah Nori
Selling that idea will not be easy. Morant is 27, a former All-Star on a max deal with two years left, and he has come off the bench only twice in his career. His public falling out with Memphis Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo last season also stemmed from rotation choices.
Nori plans to start Lillard and Morant together in preseason and judge the results. He admitted he thinks Morant would accept a bench role in public, but he is unsure how the guard would feel privately.
The NBA has seen this before. Russell Westbrook started for both the Los Angeles Lakers and the LA Clippers before losing streaks pushed him into a bench role that ultimately worked.
Whether the Ja Morant bench debate is settled in October or after a rough start, the way Nori handles it could shape Portland’s entire season.
