PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — After a summer that included cuts by the new owner, squabbles over the renovation of the team’s arena, the hiring of a new coach and the addition of Ja Morant, the Portland Trail Blazers opened training camp with more than the usual turbulence in the background.
The one steadying factor? Damian Lillard is finally back.
Tom Dundon became the face of the Blazers' new ownership group before the end of last season, when the team went
to the playoffs for the first time in five years. In the offseason, the Blazers laid off more than 70 staffers.
Tiago Splitter, an assistant who was promoted to head coach when Chauncey Billups was arrested last fall in a federal gambling probe, bolted for the Chicago Bulls this summer. The Blazers hired Micah Nori, who was an assistant with the Timberwolves.
Nori said the anticipation of embarking on his first stint as a head coach was “like Christmas Eve.”
Portland surprised many in late June by trading Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to the Grizzlies in exchange for Morant, a two-time All-Star who had a rocky tenure in Memphis.
Morant, who averages 22.4 points per game, has played in just 79 games over the last three seasons because of injuries and suspensions — including a 25-game suspension after he was seen on a livestream holding a gun while he was a passenger in a car. He was also suspended eight games for flashing a gun in a nightclub.
Morant said he needed a fresh start “because everything that happened over the years pretty much was just stuck with me. Everybody keeps bringing them up. As long as Memphis was across my chest, it was still getting said."
The addition of Morant made the Blazers' roster unbalanced, but general manager Joe Cronin said he believes the point guard-heavy team with Morant, Lillard, Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson can work.
“There’s definite areas of strength, particularly at the guard, where we have a lot of very capable guys there, many of whom are best with the ball. So we understand that we have to figure out roles and touches and just the overall team dynamics of things, but I don’t feel like there’s a major deficit throughout our other positions,” Cronin said.
Lillard returns to play after a torn Achilles tendon sidelined him for all of last season. Last summer, Lillard rejoined the Blazers — where he played for his first 11 seasons — after a two-year stint with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Over the course of his career, Lillard has averaged 25.1 points and 6.7 assists. Now 36, Lillard doesn't feel like he needs to log the heavy minutes he did in years past and aims to play with more joy this season.
He also said he's excited about the addition of Morant and believes the balance on the court will work itself out.
“All of our careers have ups and down, it’s a journey on the court, off the court. It’s a journey ultimately. It’s how you respond to those experiences and the criticism and the highs — how you respond to it is important,” Lillard said. “And being around him, you see he’s a good dude, and you know, I consider myself a pretty good judge of character.”
Lillard also expressed hope the team would remain in Portland despite contentious negotiations with the city over a $600 million project to renovate the city-owned Moda Center, the league's oldest arena, which hasn't been refurbished.
The state has already approved $365 million toward the project, but it's contingent on the city's approval to contribute a share of the total. The deadline to reach a new lease agreement with the city is in December.
Team President Dewayne Hankins said the team is meeting twice a week with the city to resolve the remaining issues.
“We’re doing everything we can to ensure the Trail Blazers stay right here," Hankins said.
The Blazers formally open training camp Tuesday ahead of the season opener on Oct. 21 at home against the Phoenix Suns.
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