Portland Trail Blazers roster once Damian Lillard returns to health, it looks promising

According to Gautam Varyl, a contributor to US sports media F/W. The Trail Blazers have been in a quagmire of mediocrity for a long time, failing to make the playoffs in each of the past four seasons. There are indeed some signs of vigor in the second half of the 2024-25 season, 23-18 in their last 41 games. The Trail Blazers hope to continue their efforts on this basis and introduced Lillard and Holiday this offseason. Lillard is currently recovering from a tear in the Achilles tendon and the Trail Blazers roster looks promising when he gets healthy. Let’s take a look at the team lineup:

starting lineup: Lillard, Holiday, Sharp, Avdia, Klingen. Lillard is the biggest question mark in this lineup because there is no way to know after he returns. This person's status. Nine times All-Stars averaged 24.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game for the Bucks. It is unrealistic to expect him to produce similar data. The best case scenario is probably Lillard playing a game close to the All-Star level. It will be the Trail Blazers’ upgrade at point guard position since he left. Lillard's backcourt partner will be Holiday, who was traded to get Holiday back in 2023. The Trail Blazers sent the veteran to the Boston Celtics shortly afterwards and have now brought him back. Holiday averaged 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game for the Celtics in the 2024-25 season. He is only one year away from being selected for the second team of the All-Defensive Team and is an ideal partner for defenders like Lillard.

Sharp will join the ranks of two veterans on the outside, and averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.9 steals per game for the Trail Blazers in the 2024-25 season. The 22-year-old is sometimes frustrated, but now there are two experienced campaigners to coach him. Next, Avdia impressed people in his first season with the Trail Blazers. Averages 16.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1 assist per game. He averaged 23.3 points per game after the All-Star game, and the Trail Blazers hope he can stay that way.

Finally, Klingen was selected at the seventh pick and had a promising rookie season performance. In the 2024-25 season, he averaged 6.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. The Trail Blazers cut Ayton to support Klingen, and once he has more experience, he will make some progress, and he does have the tools to become a defensive force.

Substitutes: Henderson, Kamara, Grant, Rowe and Yang Hansen. This allows the Trail Blazers to have a solid bench unit as well as a starting five.

Henderson will be out of the box with Lillard, getting quite a bit of playing time and possibly even becoming a starter, he is certainly someone to watch. Kamala and Seble are two excellent defensive options, the former being the starter last season. Kamara was selected to the second team of All-Defensive Team in 2025, and once Lillard returns, he will likely eventually retain his place in the roster. Grant can provide scoring impact on the bench, and a healthy Rowe is an excellent backbone on the defensive end. As for Yang Hansen, he made waves in the summer league and it would be interesting to see how he improved in his rookie season. Is this lineup of the

Trail Blazers enough to make them a true champion? Almost not. If Lillard was at his peak, it might have been an opportunity, but it is different now. However, the Trail Blazers have many excellent players who may become dark horses next season and may even enter the playoffs.