Last Updated on June 1, 2025 3:16 pm by Keston Paul | Published: June 1, 2025

The Blazers took a step forward from bad to okay. Their youth started to turn the corner from damaging prospects to actually being useful, while some of their veterans continued to put up starter-level baseline performances. Still, the team has further work to do if they want to enter playoff discussions in a loaded Western Conference. A “level up” from either Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe would do wonders for the squad, but have they shown enough to believe they are on that path?

How’d It Go?

The Blazers finally look to be on the up after a few rebuilding seasons, winning their most games since the 2020-21 season. That said, 36 wins wasn’t seriously approaching Play-In talks, let alone playoff consideration. The wins improvement didn’t come from any singular player popping off massively. Rather, it was more of a team effort as the whole squad took some marginal steps forward.

Veterans Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton, and Jerami Grant provided their typical contributions, although Ayton did only muster 40 games due to injuries. After a slow start, Deni Avdija proved to be a shrewd addition, as his all-around efforts and connective play helped supplement both sides of the ball. The emergence of Toumani Camara was not only noticed by fantasy managers as one of the standout waiver-wire pick-ups of the year but also by the NBA media populous, as Camara was voted onto the All-Defense NBA Second Team.

However, the ceiling of this team is very much a pertinent question. Shaedon Sharpe made some strides as a primary scoring option. With that in mind, it is unclear if Sharpe can truly elevate an offense beyond some tough shotmaking. His passing never took a step forward, and inconsistent play on both sides of the ball led to plenty of down moments for the third-year player. Adding onto doubts of the Blazers’ young talent were the struggles of Scoot Henderson. Henderson continued to display his tantalizing athletic gifts in his drive game and his passing vision that made him such a touted draft pick. The scoring efficiency lingers as a massive work in progress though, and needs to improve quickly if the team is ever going to build around him as their star.

At least the draft selection of Donovan Clingan looks like an early hit. While Clingan was limited to just 67 games and 19.8 minutes a game due to injury, conditioning, and positional glut, he flashed exactly what made him a lottery selection. Clingan is already ready to step up into a starting role and could become one of the best defensive drop centers in the game, if he is not already. His block rate and ability to finish defensive possessions on the glass already ranks highly compared to the league, furthering augmenting fantasy manager’s belief in him. As Clingan adapts to the NBA’s pace, he should be prepared to take on a greater load. There may be some minor quibbles to his lack of finishing, but the greater point is that Clingan could be a defensive fulcrum.

With all the pieces the Blazers already have in place, they have the bones of a solid NBA team. The missing piece however of an offensive star is usually the hardest one to find. Without any lottery luck leading to an upcoming draft pick of 11, it doesn’t appear the answer is coming through the draft. The current roster of players will be expected to take additional steps forward as the Blazers look to emerge from their rebuilding cycle.

Coaching

Chauncey Billups entered his fourth year as the Blazers head coach on the hot seat due to little success in his first three seasons. By the end of the 2024 calendar year, it looked like Billups would just be a lame duck coach for the rest of the season. However, a hot start when the calendar switched over to 2025 helped saved Billups’ job and even led to a contract extension at the conclusion of the season. What fueled the Blazers’ run in the second half of the season was their defense, where Billups stressed constant pressure on opposing guards up and down the court. Toumani Camara was the standout player utilized in this aspect, but Scoot Henderson and others bought into the concept as well. Billups preached this principles to his team, notably reducing Sharpe’s minutes at moments during the season when he felt the young wing’s defensive efforts were lacking. The team responded well to his coaching, leading to a respectable win total and improvement.

Even though the Blazers placed 7th defensively from January 1st to the end of the year, there were some warning signs that it may have been fool’s gold. From CleaningTheGlass in this time span, Portland’s opponents had the fifth-worst eFG% even though their location eFG% allowed was 19th-best in the league (location eFG% is what the team’s allowed eFG% would be if opponents shot league-average on their shot attempts). This indicates that the Portland defense was getting a little lucky with their opponents missing some shots. Additionally, Portland’s opponents shot the sixth-worst on threes in that stretch. Three-point percentage defense doesn’t really exist; the best teams can do is limit wide-open threes. All of this isn’t to say the Blazers defense wasn’t improved, just that it may not have been as strong as the surface stats would seem to imply.

Regardless, the more salient point is that Billups’ messaging got through to the players, and they all rallied behind him. The players bought into Billups and clearly played with more force and intention as the season progressed. I’m not sure if I would have chosen to extend Billups, but if the players respond well to him, that is usually a point in the coach’s favor. As with the rest of the team though, it remains to be seen if Billups can help progress the Blazers to the playoff promised land and if Billups can raise the ceiling of this team further.

The Players

Deandre Ayton

C, Portland Trail Blazers

ADP: 61.1/116.1 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 198/196 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 88/82 (8/9-cat)

Ayton is a player that always leaves us wanting more in terms of output. When he has applied himself in the past with his physical gifts, he would be a strong mid-post option while impacting rebounds, FG%, and blocks. Since he’s gotten his big contract back in the off-season of 2022 though, his applied effort has clearly waned. It has only further dropped over in Portland. Ayton’s involvement in the offense sank below a 20% usage for the first time since the 2020-21 season, all while his rim finishing and volume have declined. This led to Ayton averaging a career-low in points at 14.4 a game. Even at the center position, that is not rocking anyone’s world. Add on some injury issues over the season with just 40 games played, and Ayton’s reliability is sinking fast.

Ayton has therefore morphed from an above-average fantasy center to more of a capable one, mirroring his NBA value. We also see these effects in his defensive efforts, where his rim contest rates are honestly pathetic. Ayton contests shots at the rim at a similar rate to Dorian Finney-Smith and Cade Cunningham. Those aren’t players who are tasked with protecting the rim! Fantasy managers cannot rely on Ayton to suddenly change his stripes at this point in his career. He has enough physical tools to maintain a decent baseline of points, rebounds, blocks, and FG% impact, but we shouldn’t expect anything more. With a notable name like Donovan Clingan waiting in the wings and only one year left on his contract, Ayton’s time as a starting center in Portland could be coming to an end.

Anfernee Simons

SG, Boston Celtics

ADP: 79.2/71.0 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 75/79 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 97/110 (8/9-cat)

Simons continues to be exactly what everyone thinks he is as a player. He’s been over-tasked as Portland’s primary creation option but has filled up the stat sheet decently enough. In terms of distribution, we are probably seeing the peak of Simons’ passing ability, as he once again hovered around that 5.0 assists per game mark. The lack of impactful passing mutes Simons’ upside as a lead guard option for NBA teams and for fantasy, but we shouldn’t let that distract us from Simons’ ability as a scorer and shooter. Remarkably, his shooting has remained incredibly consistent over the last three seasons. From 2022 through 2025 season, Simons has hit 3.4, 3.4 and 3.1 threes a game at rates of 37.7%, 38.5%, and 36.3%. Simons’ overall scoring did dip down to 19.3 points a game, but I would attribute that more to other mouths on the team (like Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe) being fed rather than any decline in the scoring ability of Simons.

Clearly, Simons can be relied upon for a points and threes punch. What will dictate Simons’ fantasy range going forward is what context NBA teams will have in mind for him. Currently, he garners enough on-ball reps to help juice his passing numbers. How long can we expect that to continue? Similar to Ayton, Simons is entering the last year of his contract. With the Blazers at a crossroads in terms of team direction and who to feature, Simons is left in flux. Numerous outlets have floated his name in trade rumors to other locales, but it doesn’t appear just yet the Blazers have been shopping him eagerly. Regardless of wherever Simons ends up, he should be valued for his impactful shooting and capable passing. That should lead to similar stats as we’ve seen from him but perhaps in reduced minutes.

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