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\n\t\t\tAfter being eliminated from the playoffs in a Game 5 loss in San Antonio on Tuesday, young players like Toumani Camara, Scoot Henderson and Deni Avdija came away encouraged by the Trail Blazers\u2018 first postseason appearance in five years, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.
\n\u201cMy first two years, I was trying to figure out what the main goal was for this team, where we\u2019re trying to go, what we have, what was our mission,\u201d Camara said. \u201cWell, now we have more of a clear view of what we can do and what we can accomplish. So I think it\u2019s very promising. We have a lot of talent. We have a group of great-character guys. I\u2019m just very excited for what we\u2019ve got coming.\u201d
\nAs Freeman notes, Portland overcame a significant amount of adversity to make the playoffs. Head coach Chauncey Billups was placed on indefinite leave following the first game of the season after being arrested on federal charges related to illegal gambling, and the team endured several injuries throughout 2025\/26.
\n\u201cWe had a crazy year, man,\u201d Camara said. \u201cWe\u2019ve battled all year. It\u2019s a tough league. It\u2019s a tough league to win. But we stuck together, believed in one another throughout all the ups and downs, and I think it was a positive season for us, especially the way we were able to end things. We didn\u2019t get the results or play the way we wanted during the playoffs. But it was our first time for a lot of us and we\u2019re learning, still trying to build connection. I think it\u2019s only positive things and nowhere to go but up from here.\u201d
\nHere\u2019s more on the Blazers:<\/p>\n
A year ago, Bill Oram of The Oregonian was skeptical of the team\u2019s direction, but he viewed this season as a major success and now believes the Blazers are trending in a positive direction. Oram argues fans shouldn\u2019t lose perspective on all the promising developments of \u201925\/26, despite the team being over matched against the Spurs.
\nVeteran wing Matisse Thybulle lauded Tiago Splitter\u2018s performance as interim head coach, according to Brenna Greene of KOIN News (Twitter video link). \u201cThere\u2019s a term where, if its late in the shot clock and someone throws you the ball because they don\u2019t have a good look and you have to shoot it with no time left, they call it a grenade. In a sense that\u2019s kind of what Tiago was thrown,\u201d Thybulle said. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019s in some cases a bit of miracle, but in our world, even if you overachieve, it can still be disappointing to people. \u2026 As far as I\u2019m concerned, Tiago did an amazing job.\u201d
\nThybulle is one of many Blazers who\u2019s supportive of Splitter, according to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (subscriber link), who thinks the former NBA big man has \u201cmore than earned\u201d the full-time job. Finding a permanent head coach will be the first order of business in Portland, but there are several other big questions facing the team this summer, Highkin writes, mostly centered on new owner Tom Dundon and how his involvement will impact the organization going forward. Highkin views Camara, Avdija and Donovan Clingan as the team\u2019s core, with shooting an obvious area of need going forward.
\nWithin his offseason preview, ESPN\u2019s Bobby Marks also points to Dundon as a wild card this summer, since he may or may not push the team to be ultra-aggressive. Robert Williams and Thybulle are among Portland\u2019s potential free agents, with Henderson eligible for a rookie scale extension.
\nDundon has been heavily criticized for a series of cost-cutting measures in his first month-plus as major owner. However, he recently opened his wallet to make another investment in pickleball, per Ben Axelrod of Front Office Sports.<\/p>\n