Today is Portland Trail Blazers Media Day, the official opening of training camp for the 2026-27 season. Most of the event buzz surrounded the season to come, but one issues lingers over the franchise at the start of the year. All summer the Blazers and the City of Portland wrangled, negotiated, and attempted to find a mutually-agreeable solution to funding renovations for the Moda Center arena, the Trail Blazers’ home. As talks dragged on, the inevitable specter of the franchise moving came into
play. Nobody has said the Blazers will move to another home if the arena isn’t updated, but nobody has said they won’t either.
During his Media Day interview, Damian Lillard (after 14 years still the most recognizable face of the franchise) addressed the issue. When asked whether he could imagine the team moving, Lillard responded, in part:
As much as I’m a Trail Blazer, I’m a Portland person. … I just don’t see that happening. And hopefully that’s what it ends up being. I just don’t see a world where the Blazers aren’t in Portland.
Lillard is not the person making decisions on these matters, of course. That responsibility lies with Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon and his conglomerate of minority-stakes governors. But at least Dame has an enthusiastic thumbs up for working it out and the Blazers remaining in town.
