In case you haven’t noticed, the Portland Trail Blazers have found their new franchise player.
With a 127-113 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night, the Blazers inched closer to the tenth-place Sacramento Kings in the West. Portland has to overcome a 3.5-game gap between the two clubs to qualify for the Play-In, but it’s still possible.
The Blazers’ star of the night on Tuesday was 24-year-old wing Deni Avdija, who finished with 32 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists on 11-for-21 from the field and 3-for-8 from three.
Avdija has also turned into the star of Portland’s 2024-25 season, and his play since the All-Star break has positioned Avdija as the best asset on the Blazers.
Avdija’s ridiculous triple-double on Tuesday made him just the fourth player in the NBA this season to finish a game with 30-plus points, 15-plus boards, and 10-plus assists. The other players on the list are Nikola Jokić, Jayson Tatum, and Jimmy Butler.
Avdija is averaging 22.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game since the All-Star break, and his numbers in March indicate that he’s only gotten hotter as the season has progressed. Avdija is averaging 23.4, 9.8, and 5.2 on 45.7 percent from three in March, making him the youngest forward to average 20/5/5 on 45 percent from three since Larry Bird in 1980.
Yes, the Blazers have stumbled upon their franchise centerpiece.
You have to think that the Washington Wizards — who selected Avdija at No. 9 overall in the 2020 NBA draft only to trade him to Portland last summer — are suffering from deep regret.
The other crazy thing about Avdija, given his recent production, is his contract. Avdija is making $15.6 million this season, but his yearly salary declines in each of the next three seasons ($11.9 million by 2027-28), making for potentially the best contract in the entire league if Avdija continues playing anywhere close to this level moving forward.
Avdija has been playing so well that Portland would now refuse a ton of trade offers for him that only a few months ago would have seemed idiotic to turn down.
Take a player like Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, who is a dynamic two-way All-Star in his prime, albeit slightly overpaid.
If Boston were to tempt Portland by dangling Brown in front of them this summer for a package centered around Avdija, the Blazers wouldn’t bite.
Avdija has been that good, and no one knows how much better he’s going to get, since his prime is still a couple of years away.
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