When the Portland Trail Blazers added these backcourt pieces this offseason, one key concern was whether the added ball-handlers and playmakers would hurt Deni Avdija's growth coming off his first All-Star season.
Fortunately, new head coach Micah Nori addressed that at Media Day on Monday, making it clear he intends to build on the success interim head coach Tiago Splitter had in unlocking Avdija as the point-forward to initiate the Blazers' offense.
"I think it's very similar," Nori said. "What unlocked for Deni was through injuries; you saw what he's able to do with the basketball in his hands. Great job to Tiago, his staff, those guys for unleashing that in him. So we'd be crazy not to carry that over."
Deni Avdija's point-forward role is safe under Micah Nori
Avdija's emergence in that point-forward role was the silver lining to all the injuries Portland suffered in its backcourt.
Now 2026-27 is set to be a hybrid season, meaning Nori will have to find a way to integrate Avdija's point-forward evolution with a backcourt that probably has more guards than necessary.
Nori went on to mention playing more in transition with all these ball-handlers and decision makers, which should further continue playing to Deni's strengths as one of the league's biggest wrecking balls in the open court.
He also notes the added floor spacing alongside Damian Lillard, which should only further stretch the floor for Avdija's downhill game. So while he may not be the offensive hub essentially every play like he was last season, it's reassuring to hear from Nori that Avdija will be very much involved in initiating the offense.
"He will have the ball plenty because we'd be crazy not to give it to him," Nori said.
From a pure counting-stats perspective, these guards will likely hurt Avdija's production. But he'll still have plenty of opportunities to build off his star ascension and, most importantly, will be more efficient with what should be easier looks than last year.
As good as Avdija was last season for Portland, the playoffs revealed that this team's ceiling isn't high enough to contend with him as the lone option. Nori's task now is to find the balance between adding more guards to this roster and building off a young core that already reached the postseason without them.
It's a work in progress throughout the season, but at least Nori knows Avdija, as a point forward, remains a top priority for this offense.
