Ja Morant creates starting lineup question the Trail Blazers may solve from the bench

The Portland Trail Blazers enter the season with a good problem that could quickly become a complicated one. After trading for Ja Morant earlier in the offseason and bringing Damian Lillard back as he works his way from a torn Achilles, Portland has also watched Deni Avdija grow into an All-Star and the team’s most dependable initiator. That leaves three primary shot-creators vying for touches and, potentially, only two backcourt spots in the starting lineup.

Lillard told reporters at training camp that he expects to open games alongside Avdija and Morant. That vision does not fully align with first-year head coach Micah Nori, who has publicly kept his options open and, according to reporting, views a Lillard-Morant starting pairing as difficult to justify. Avdija, as the youngest player in that trio and the one currently driving the team’s offense, is effectively locked into the starting group.

Defensive concerns and spacing issues with three creators

From a pure basketball standpoint, asking Lillard and Morant to share a backcourt raises obvious concerns. Together they would form one of the league’s weakest defensive guard duos, and adding both next to Avdija would limit how much he can dictate the offense. Morant’s unreliable perimeter shooting would also squeeze spacing, making it harder for Avdija to attack with a clear floor.

A more balanced configuration would feature Avdija with size and defence around him — names like Donovan Clingan, Toumani Camara and a high-end guard defender such as Jrue Holiday — plus Lillard’s elite shooting and pick-and-roll creation. Lillard can slide off the ball while still bending defences, giving Avdija needed relief as a creator without sacrificing spacing. In that setup, the most natural way to feature Morant is as the lead guard for the second unit, where he can have the ball in his hands as often as possible.

Portland’s depth only strengthens that argument. With Scoot Henderson eligible for an extension and Shaedon Sharpe expected back later on, the Blazers have no shortage of young perimeter options. Morant thrived in Memphis in a structure built completely around his strengths; on a roster with another star initiator in Lillard and an emerging playmaking forward in Avdija, his value is highest when he can dominate possessions against opposing benches.

Nori must balance egos, roles and results

Moving a 27-year-old former All-Star to the bench is rarely straightforward. Morant has come off the bench only twice in his career, both instances tied to returns from injury. Less than a year removed from a very public clash with former Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo over rotation usage — even as he still started every game he played — Morant now arrives in Portland on a maximum contract with two years left, fully aware that bench players often occupy a different salary tier than entrenched starters.

Nori has signalled that he understands those stakes. Speaking about the possibility of leaning on Jrue Holiday’s flexibility, he cautioned against defaulting to the veteran as the one who sacrifices, saying the staff does not want to simply assume, “Well, Jrue will handle it the best, so don’t start him.” For now, Nori plans to open the preseason with Lillard and Morant starting together and evaluate how it looks before making any firm decision.

Around the league, the most comparable case is Russell Westbrook. With the Los Angeles Lakers, Darvin Ham briefly kept Westbrook in the starting lineup before shifting him to a sixth-man role. Later, Ty Lue did something similar with the Los Angeles Clippers after pairing Westbrook with newly acquired James Harden; the team took off once Westbrook moved to the bench. Morant’s situation is different — he is younger, newer to the team, and Nori does not yet have championship equity — but the precedent is there.

Ultimately, this is precisely the kind of decision head coaches are hired to confront. At some point, there is a strong chance the Trail Blazers will need to persuade Morant that leading the bench is best for the group. How convincingly they manage that conversation may go a long way in determining how far this version of Portland can go.