Portland Trail Blazers

Portland Trail Blazers guard Gary Payton II had offseason surgery to repair a core muscle injury.

Per an official statement from the team, Payton had the procedure in July and is expected to make a full recovery before the regular season begins.

The Blazers made several moves during the offseason as they look to get back to the playoffs this season.

Payton was Portland's biggest free-agent signing. He signed a three-year, $28 million deal in July. The 29-year-old had a breakout 2021-22 season with the Golden State Warriors that culminated with the team winning an NBA championship.

In addition to signing Payton, the Blazers acquired Jerami Grant in a trade with the Detroit Pistons. They also re-signed Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkić.

Lillard's two-year max extension put an end to any speculation the six-time All-Star could pursue a trade, at least for now.

Bringing in high-end role players like Payton and Grant was a message that the Blazers believe they can be contenders in 2022-23. Lillard's health will be the biggest key for the team this season. He appeared in only 29 games during the 2021-22 campaign due to an abdominal injury.

Payton spent the first five seasons of his career bouncing around the NBA, trying to carve out a role. He spent time with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards before landing with the Warriors on a 10-day contract late in the 2020-21 season.

The Warriors waived Payton before the start of last season but re-signed him when he cleared waivers. The Oregon State alum appeared in a career-high 71 games and averaged 7.1 points with a 61.6 field-goal percentage.

Payton's hallmark is his ability on the defensive end of the court. He ranked sixth in defensive rating (102.3) among players with at least 10 appearances in 2021-22. He was even better during Golden State's playoff run, ranking fifth overall with a 100.0 mark in 12 games.

The Blazers will be counting on Payton to improve a defense that ranked 27th in points allowed per game (115.1) and last in defensive rating (116.9) last season.

Damian Lillard has said he's staying with the Portland Trail Blazers over and over—and then he's said it over again, in case you didn't hear it the first two times.

Well, let him once again put any speculation to bed: He plans to finish his career in Portland.

“Yes, I do,” Lillard said on the Dave Pasch Podcast. “I’ve had my share of people saying ‘Man, you got to get out of there! You’ve got to do this, you’ve got do to that.’ But I’m the type of person that I’m never going to be marching to the beat of nobody else’s drum. I’m gonna always do what I feel like is in my best interest and that I really feel in my heart.

"I’ve said this on many different occasions, they call it ‘He’s being loyal!’ and ‘Loyalty this, loyalty that’ and I’m like, I’m naturally a loyal person but I do have a level of loyalty to the organization, but this loyalty that they’re talking about is ultimately to who I am as a person. I’m being loyal to who I am and not getting beside myself because I’m somebody that, I believe what I believe. I think I can get it done. Now, everybody else might say, ‘There’s no way the Blazers will ever win. They need to do this, they need to do that.’ But that’s just not how I feel about the situation. I feel like we’ll have a chance to win, I feel like that moment is going to come, I feel like that opportunity is going to come. And that’s that.”

Lillard signed a two-year, $122 million extension with the Blazers in July that could keep him with the franchise through the 2026-27 season. He will be either 36 or 37 by the time his contract expires, at which point it's almost certain Lillard will have spent the entirety of his prime with the Blazers.

Portland is coming off a miserable 2021-22 campaign, finishing 27-55 as Lillard missed 53 games due to an abdominal injury. It was the first time in Lillard's career that he failed to play at least 66 games.

The Blazers overhauled their roster with their star on the mend, jettisoning several veterans from the roster in moves that seemingly signaled a full-scale rebuild. While the additions of Jerami Grant and Gary Payton II will add some much-needed athleticism on the defensive perimeter, this is perhaps the worst on-paper Blazers roster ever assembled around Lillard.

Even the prize of last year's down season, rookie guard Shaedon Sharpe, is one of the rawest prospects in the lottery and is likely a couple years away from significant contribution.

Lillard says he believes the Blazers can win a championship during his career, but there is no obvious path to reaching that goal in the near future. It's possible Lillard has done the legacy math and decided he would rather be a legend in Portland than a champion. That's his prerogative and is arguably admirable in an era where players rarely have a true relationship with their city.

On the other hand, Lillard may start to change his tune once he reaches training camp and realizes how bare the cupboards are around him.

All-Star point guard Damian Lillard said he remains committed to playing his entire career with the Portland Trail Blazers despite a lot of people questioning that decision.

Lillard discussed his view of the situation Tuesday on The Dave Pasch Podcast (via Casey Holdahl of the Blazers' official website):

Yes, I do [plan on being a Blazer for life]. I've had my share of people saying, 'Man, you got to get out of there! You've got to do this, you've got do to that.' But I'm the type of person that I'm never going to be marching to the beat of nobody else's drum. I'm gonna always do what I feel like is in my best interest and that I really feel in my heart. I've said this on many different occasions, they call it, 'He's being loyal!' and 'Loyalty this, loyalty that,' and I'm like, I'm naturally a loyal person but I do have a level of loyalty to the organization, but this loyalty that they're talking about is ultimately to who I am as a person. I'm being loyal to who I am and not getting beside myself, because I'm somebody that, I believe what I believe. I think I can get it done. Now, everybody else might say, 'There's no way the Blazers will ever win. They need to do this, they need to do that.' But that's just not how I feel about the situation. I feel like we'll have a chance to win, I feel like that moment is going to come, I feel like that opportunity is going to come. And that's that.

The 32-year-old California native was selected by the Blazers with the sixth pick in the 2012 NBA draft. He won Rookie of the Year honors at the end of his debut campaign and has proceeded to make six All-Star appearances.

After a steady growth period, it appeared Portland was on the verge of a breakthrough when it reached the 2019 Western Conference Finals before getting swept by the Golden State Warriors.

The Blazers haven't been able to match that success in subsequent years, getting knocked out of the playoffs in the first round in both 2020 and 2021. They missed the playoffs altogether last season.

A roster shakeup occurred amid the fading results, including the departure of Lillard's longtime backcourt partner, CJ McCollum, in a February trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Lillard has also been the focus of trade rumors at times, but the former Weber State standout told CNBC's Jabari Young in April that he believes there's mutual interest in him staying for the long haul.

"If they came to me and they wanted to trade me—I'm not going to fight them on wanting to trade me," Lillard said. "I don't want to be anywhere I'm not wanted. But I don't think that's the case."

He added: "I have no plans of not being a Portland Trail Blazer. I want to be here, and I think they want me here."

That's been his message every step of the way, and it doesn't appear likely to change despite outside pressure urging him to seek new opportunities elsewhere.

While it's good news for the Blazers, it also puts more pressure on the front office to continue rebuilding the roster around Lillard to push toward a championship run while he's still at or near the peak of his powers.

Portland tips off the 2022-23 season Oct. 19 when it visits the Golden 1 Center to face the Sacramento Kings.

The Portland Trail Blazers hope the 2021-22 season was just a blip.

After reaching the playoffs eight years in a row and advancing as far as the Western Conference Finals during that span, they stumbled on their way to a 27-55 record. Damian Lillard played just 29 games because of injuries, CJ McCollum was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, and the team fell well short of expectations.

Things figure to look a bit different in 2022-23.

The Trail Blazers' biggest offseason move came when they acquired Jerami Grant in a trade with the Detroit Pistons. They also added Gary Payton II in free agency after he helped lead the Golden State Warriors to the title and took a chance on Shaedon Sharpe with the No. 7 pick in the draft even though he never played a game for Kentucky.

The end result likely won't be a title, but it isn't a stretch to suggest Portland will be fighting for a postseason spot again with a healthy Lillard leading the way.

Here is a look at some of the details for the schedule it will have to face while attempting to do so.

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2022-23 Trail Blazers Schedule Details

Season Opener: Oct. 19, at Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m. ET

Championship Odds: 120-1 (FanDuel)

Full Schedule: NBA.com

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Top Matchups

Los Angeles Lakers (First game: Oct. 23)

Portland will always circle matchups with the rival Los Angeles Lakers on its schedule, and this season is no different.

While the history of playoff matchups between the two franchises and the star power that will be inside the building with LeBron James, Lillard, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook jumps out, these are important games for the Trail Blazers for more than just that context.

The Lakers are trying to do exactly what they are this season and go from missing the playoffs and play-in tournament entirely to being a factor near the top of the Western Conference standings.

Los Angeles entered the 2021-22 campaign with championship-or-bust expectations, and the word "bust" doesn't even begin to encapsulate what happened.

Westbrook was a less-than-ideal fit at best, Davis and James each dealt with injuries, and it was a struggle to remain afloat even in the play-in picture. Head coach Frank Vogel was fired after the season, and no team will be under more of a spotlight to bounce back in 2022-23 than the Purple and Gold.

From Portland's perspective, it has to leapfrog teams that made the Western Conference playoffs and worry about keeping the Lakers at bay so they don't take one of the coveted postseason spots.

There is no better way to do just that than by winning these head-to-head matchups.

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New Orleans Pelicans (First game: Nov. 10)

There are some similarities between the New Orleans Pelicans and Trail Blazers this season, and they go beyond the mere presence of McCollum.

Both teams will be looking to challenge the presumed contenders atop the Western Conference standings with the return of a healthy star. Zion Williamson did not play a single game in 2021-22, but the Pelicans still managed to emerge from the play-in tournament and challenge the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.

New Orleans is a candidate to take a significant leap this season with the return of Williamson, McCollum on the roster for an entire season and Brandon Ingram, 24, being firmly in the middle of his prime.

That makes this something of a measuring-stick matchup for the Trail Blazers.

While they may not be able to challenge the defending champion Golden State Warriors or some of the other top-notch contenders, figuring out a way to best other playoff threats like the Pelicans will be key if they are going to position themselves for a postseason appearance and run.

Add that to the intrigue of McCollum going up against his former team and the list of headline players who will participate in these matchups and they become appointment viewing.

They also might be playoff previews.

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Season Forecast

As it has throughout his career, Portland's outlook ultimately begins and ends with Lillard.

This offseason, the six-time All-Star agreed to a two-year extension that will keep him under contract through the 2026-27 season. It was another example of the loyalty he has shown to the only NBA team he has known, and he drove that point home when he told reporters "it wouldn't be as fulfilling to me" to win a championship elsewhere.

Unfortunately for the 32-year-old, that championship isn't going to come in 2022-23.

Even with that ceiling, there is still plenty to like about the Trail Blazers working under the assumption that their star point guard is healthy and returns to form.

Grant can be a 20-plus point scorer on a nightly basis after he averaged 22.3 in 2020-21 and 19.2 last season for the Pistons. The presence of Lillard alone should open him up for easier opportunities because opposing defenses always have to shift toward No. 0 whether the ball is in his hands or not.

Anfernee Simons is also a candidate to make an All-Star leap and help replace the lost production of McCollum after he posted a career-best 17.3 points per game with a larger role last season.

Throw in a solid group of secondary contributors in Jusuf Nurkic, Payton, Josh Hart and Justise Winslow, and Portland has a formidable core regardless of whether Sharpe needs some time to develop during his rookie season after not playing in a collegiate game.

While there still isn't enough talent to match up with the elite teams in the Western Conference, there are enough pieces in place around a healthy Lillard for the Trail Blazers to return to the playoffs.

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Record Prediction: 43-39

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Consider John Calipari a Damian Lillard fan.

The Kentucky men's basketball coach praised the message the Portland Trail Blazers superstar passed along during his Formula Zero basketball camp this past week.

This is about earning your way, creating your own space, learning to fight and - as @Dame_Lillard said - being “sturdy” through the ups and downs.

I hope every player who leaves our program has a toolbox to be successful in the next chapters of their lives, including the NBA.

— John Calipari (@CoachCalArk) August 6, 2022

Lillard's message was that he wants to help young players develop mental toughness and work ethic, especially in an age where they are praised their entire lives, recruited as top and gifted prospects and have large social media followings but may not be ready for the potential adversity that awaits them at the college or professional level.

"It puts them in a position to where those things, it lets them down when they get to a professional environment and their talent can't get them though," he said at the camp. "You got to be stable and strong mentally. You got to be sturdy. You got to have something that you can stand on because it gets tough. ... I want to help these kids, they got all these followers on Instagram, but I wanna help them have the stuff that is not just a talent."

At the NBA level, every player has massive talent. Other factors often differentiate the best players from their peers, which is the message Lillard is trying to send to young players and one that Calipari endorses.

The Portland Trail Blazers and point guard Damian Lillard are reportedly close to coming to terms on a two-year max contract extension.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the extension will keep Lillard under contract through the 2026-27 season. ESPN's Bobby Marks reported that the extension is worth $122 million.

Here is the Lillard contract breakdown:

Current contract

22-23: $42.5M
23-24: $45.6M
24-25: $48.8M

Extension*

25-26: $58.5M
26-27: $63.3M (P)

The extension numbers could be adjusted based on the salary cap in 2025-26. It cannot exceed 35% of the cap for that season.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 8, 2022

Lillard is the tied for third as the longest tenured NBA player to remain with the team that he was drafted by, joining Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. His career on court earnings is now $436 million. That ranks only behind Kevin Durant, Curry and Beal.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 8, 2022

Lillard has spent his entire career with the Blazers since the organization selected him out of Weber State with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

The six-time All-Star has averaged 24.6 points, 6.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 threes in 711 appearances across 10 seasons in Portland. He's shot 43.7 percent from the field, including 37.3 percent from beyond the arc.

He's been the focus of trade rumors at times over the past few years, but he reaffirmed his commitment to the Blazers in April.

"I have no plans of not being a Portland Trail Blazer," Lillard told CNBC's Jabari Young. "I want to be here, and I think they want me here."

The 31-year-old California native is a six-time All-NBA selection, including selection to the First Team following the 2017-18 campaign. He added a gold medal to his list of accolades as part of Team USA at the 2021 Summer Olympics

Now, with an extension in place to keep him in Portland for the foreseeable future, the question is whether the team's front office can build a championship-level roster around him.

It appeared the Blazers were trending toward title contention when they reached the 2019 Western Conference Finals, but they've failed to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs since that point. They missed the playoffs last season.

A series of roster changes have occurred, highlighted by the departure of CJ McCollum, Lillard's longtime backcourt running mate, in a February trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Dealing Lillard would have indicated the start of a full-scale rebuild, but instead, the Blazers have doubled down on their commitment to one of the league's top point guards.

Now work must be done on the rest of the roster if a return to title contention is in the cards.

Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard rebutted speculation regarding alleged communication issues with team chair Jody Allen.

Sources told the New York Post on Thursday that Allen "refused to talk" with the six-time NBA All-Star, which led him to develop "issues with the way the team is being run."

Lillard provided a statement to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes on Friday:

Damian Lillard to @YahooSports on report that Portland Trail Blazers owner Jody Allen refused to take his call: pic.twitter.com/PMQqncIwWg

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 8, 2022

The 31-year-old California native has spent his entire pro career with the Blazers, who selected him in the 2012 NBA draft.

Allen took over day-to-day operations of the Blazers, along with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, following the death of her brother, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, in October 2018.

She's been in the spotlight amid rumors the sports franchises could be sold, but a statement released Tuesday suggested those discussions aren't imminent:

Statement from Jody Allen pic.twitter.com/oAezfb398o

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) July 5, 2022

Meanwhile, the Blazers have trended in the wrong direction since reaching the 2019 Western Conference Finals. They were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round the next two years and missed the postseason altogether this past season.

Portland began to restructure the roster around Lillard, who was limited to 29 games in 2021-22 because of an abdominal injury, ahead of the trade deadline in February.

CJ McCollum, Lillard's longtime backcourt running mate, along with Robert Covington and Norman Powell led the group of notable departures in a series of deals centered around the acquisition of depth players and draft picks.

The revitalization process has continued during the offseason following a trade with the Detroit Pistons for Jerami Grant and the free-agent signing of Gary Payton II.

Lillard is under contract with Portland through the 2023-24 season as part of a four-year, $176.3 million deal, which includes a player option for 2024-25.

In April, the veteran guard confirmed to CNBC's Jabari Young his intention to remain with the organization despite the other roster changes.

"I have no plans of not being a Portland Trail Blazer," Lillard said. "I want to be here, and I think they want me here."

The 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year has averaged 24.6 points, 6.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 threes across 711 career appearances for the Blazers.

After trying and failing to land a trade partner, the Portland Trail Blazers waived guard Eric Bledsoe.

Only $3.9 million of his $19.4 million salary was fully guaranteed for the 2022-23 season.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported several teams are expected to pursue Bledsoe once he clears waivers.

The veteran guard did not play a game with the Blazers after being traded to Portland at the February deadline. He averaged 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 54 games with the Los Angeles Clippers before the trade.

While Bledsoe has clearly lost some of his athleticism and effectiveness over the last two seasons, he's still only 32 years old and could thrive in a more limited role. He has played at least 25 minutes per game each of the last 10 seasons; look for that number to dwindle into the high teens in his next stop.

The Blazers acquired Bledsoe more as a trade chip than as a player, hoping to coax a team in need of salary relief into another deal as they retool their roster. They found no takers despite moving his contract guarantee date back to July 10.

Losing Bledsoe for nothing hurts Portland in the interim because the team is losing a potentially valuable salary slot. They could have held onto him past the guarantee date and then kept the salary slot available in case a team wanted to acquire an expiring contract, but it's likely the Blazers explored that market and found it equally unappealing.

Damian Lillard is under contract with the Portland Trail Blazers for at least two more seasons, but the franchise wants him to stick around even longer and intends to offer him a two-year extension worth more than $100 million, according to Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer.

However, that new contract isn't a "sure thing," according to The Athletic's Sam Amick, who wrote:

"While it has been widely assumed Lillard will accept the two-year extension offer worth more than $100 million that is expected to come his way, sources say the Trail Blazers still needed to have a strong offseason to persuade Lillard to sign on through the 2026-27 campaign (when he'll be 36). The deadline here isn’t until the start of the regular season, and I’m being told this is not a sure thing just yet."

There had been rumblings over the past year that Lillard wanted out of Portland. Before the 2021-22 season began, he expressed disappointment in the team's offseason moves.

Then in December, Amick and Shams Charania reported that Lillard had "grown frustrated with the team’s play" and that "tension [appeared] to be on the rise" between players and head coach Chauncey Billups.

However, Lillard reiterated his commitment to the Trail Blazers in February, ending most of the speculation that he could request a move:

"For me, my heart is Portland Trail Blazer. I want to win it. I know that I have a plan that's going to put me on my best level when I come back to play. And I want our team to fit that. I'm a huge fan of Chauncey Billups. … And I'm a Joe Cronin fan. In his position I think it takes being bold and doing bold things, doing what you see fit and standing on it. He's told me that our plan is to build a winning team, not to rebuild. Because we had a prior relationship to him becoming GM, I trust his word.

"I'm just waiting patiently to let things unfold and allow him to execute his plan. Once we get there and we see what that looks like and what that is, then I'll have, I guess, more feelings than I have now but you've got to allow him to do his job and see what that finished product is. That's just where I am."

The Blazers appear to be taking Lillard's concerns to heart. They acquired Jerami Grant from the Detroit Pistons last month, and he and Lillard played together at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, winning a gold medal with Team USA.

In addition, Portland re-signed Anfernee Simons on a four-year, $100 million deal, agreed to terms to bring back Jusuf Nurkic on a four-year, $70 million contract and signed veteran guard Gary Payton II to a three-year, $28 million deal, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Grant and Payton are both solid defenders, which the Trail Blazers desperately needed after finishing with the second-worst defensive rating in the league last season, according to NBA.com.

That said, Lillard is going to have to do much of the heavy lifting.

The 31-year-old has been a starter since being selected sixth overall in the 2012 draft. During the 2021-22 season, he averaged 24.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists while shooting 40.2 percent from the floor and just 32.4 percent from deep, but he only appeared in 29 games while dealing with an abdominal injury that eventually required surgery.

While the Trail Blazers have made the playoffs in all but two seasons since Lillard joined the squad, they haven't reached the conference finals since 2019, when they were swept by the Golden State Warriors.

Anfernee Simons is running it back with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The restricted free-agent guard signed a four-year, $100 million deal to remain in Portland, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, who spoke to Simons' agent, Bill Duffy.

While the Blazers have rebuilt their roster around Damian Lillard over the past year, Simons is one of the lone remaining complementary pieces.

Last season, the Blazers dealt CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada a 2022 first-round pick and two second-rounders.

They weren't done there, trading Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Los Angeles Clippers for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and a 2025 second-round pick.

The Blazers then used the cap space they created this summer to land Jerami Grant in a trade with the Detroit Pistons.

So prior to the Simons news, the Blazers were set to have a solid core of Lillard, Grant, Hart, rookie Shaedon Sharpe, Justise Winslow and Nassir Little, among others. But a huge part of the retooling plan was re-signing Simons.

The 23-year-old had a breakout season last year, averaging 17.3 points and 3.9 assists in 29.5 minutes per game (57 total contests), shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from three.

The Blazers will be expecting another step forward in the 2022-23 campaign and beyond considering contract they just gave him. If he continues to grow, they will be a real threat to return to the postseason.