The Portland Trail Blazers’ quest to return to relevance in the post-Damian Lillard era will not get off the ground until a player of his caliber is developed or added to lead the way.
Fifteen of the 16 playoff teams this season had a current All-Star player on their roster. The only exception was the Orlando Magic, whose star forward Paolo Banchero, named to his first All-Star team last year, missed most of the first half of this season.
The top eight teams all had multiple players who have been selected to All-Star teams during their careers.
The Blazers have zero.
The search for such a star continues Wednesday when the Blazers use, or maybe trade, the No. 11 pick in the NBA draft.
Since the franchise began in 1970, the Blazers have drafted nine of their 16 All-Stars. However, guard Brandon Roy and forward LaMarcus Aldridge were acquired through draft-day trades in 2006, essentially making them Blazers selections.
Still, landing 11 future All-Stars through 55 drafts shows how difficult it is to secure such gems. Other avenues teams use to acquire stars include trades and free agent signings. The latter hasn’t proven successful for the Blazers in finding All-Star players. But five future All-Stars have been obtained via trades.
Here is a look at all three paths the Blazers could take and their history with each:
THE DRAFT
The draft is the only avenue where a team has total control over the player they select. Free agency requires a mutual agreement with a player that involves financial parameters. Trades include striking a deal with another team and, at times, gaining a player’s approval, especially if they are star-caliber.
The Blazers’ success drafting star players has been solid.
Portland’s first draft pick, Geoff Petrie, was selected No. 8 in the 1970 draft. He produced two All-Star seasons before injuries prematurely ended his career.
Trail Blazers archive image
Trail Blazers guard Geoff Petrie (45) soars to the basket over Golden State Warriors forward Rick Barry during a game in November 1972. BOB ELLIS / THE OREGONIAN/OREGONLIVE.The Oregonian
Other All-Stars includeSidney Wicks (second pick, 1971, four-time All-Star), Bill Walton (first pick, 1974, two-time All-Star),Lionel Hollins (sixth pick, 1975, one All-Star season), Jim Paxson (12th pick, 1979, two-time All-Star), Clyde Drexler (14th pick, 1983, eight-time All-Star with Blazers), Terry Porter (24th pick, 1985, two All-Star seasons), Cliff Robinson (second round, 1989 draft, one-time All-Star) and Damian Lillard (sixth pick, 2012, seven All-Star seasons).
Portland pulled off its best draft-day magic in 2006 when the Blazers made two separate trades that landed Roy and Aldridge.
Chicago selected Aldridge at No. 2, while Portland took Tyrus Thomas at No. 4. The Blazers then traded Thomas and forward Viktor Khryapa for Aldridge in one of the greatest deals in franchise history. Aldridge had four All-Star seasons with the Blazers before leaving as a free agent for San Antonio following the 2014-15 season.
In that same draft, Minnesota selected Roy at No. 6 and traded his rights to the Blazers for the rights to Randy Foye, selected by Boston with a pick it traded to the Blazers in a multi-player deal that included Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliff.
The Blazers would be hard-pressed to ever pull off a day like that again. But through creative tanking, they accumulated three lottery picks following the three previous seasons.
General manager Joe Cronin selected shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe with the No. 7 pick in 2022, point guard Scoot Henderson at No. 3 in 2023 and center Donovan Clingan at No. 7 last year.
All three have shown flashes of potential, with Sharpe most closely resembling a potential future All-Star. However, none can be considered locks to reach that level. Only Clingan was named to an All-Rookie team, landing on this year’s second unit.
Selecting No. 11 this year doesn’t bode well for drafting a star, though it’s not unheard of. Here is a look at some draft gems selected at or around No. 11:
2020: The Sacramento Kings drafted point guard Tyrese Haliburton with the No. 12 pick. In 2022, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers, who reached this year’s NBA Finals, where they lost in seven games to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) shoots under Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) shoots under Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Indianapolis.AP Photo/Abbie Parr
2018: Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, recently named league MVP, was selected at No. 11 by the Charlotte Hornets. He was traded the next year to the LA Clippers before landing with the Thunder a few years later.
2016: Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis, a three-time All-Star, was selected at No. 11 by the Orlando Magic. On draft night, he was traded to the Thunder. The next year, Sabonis was moved to Indiana, where he played for nearly five seasons before being traded to Sacramento for Haliburton.
2015: Four-time All-Star guard Devin Booker went No. 13 overall to the Phoenix Suns.
2013: The Denver Nuggets drafted Donovan Mitchell 13th overall and traded him to the Utah Jazz. The six-time All-Star is now with Cleveland. In that same draft, three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo went 14th to Miami.
2011: The Golden State Warriors selected future five-time All-Star guard Klay Thompson at No. 11.
2010: Milwaukee selected future MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo at No. 15, a handful of picks behind guard CJ McCollum, who went No. 10 to the Blazers. McCollum never became an All-Star, but at his best, he would be the best player on the current Portland roster.
1993: Detroit picked guard Allan Houston at No. 11. Years later, he became a two-time All-Star for the New York Knicks.
1991: Cleveland drafted point guard Terrell Brandon out of Oregon/Grant High School at No. 11. He went on to become a two-time All-Star.
1987: The Indiana Pacers drafted guard Reggie Miller at No. 11. He became a five-time All-Star and is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
1986: Kobe Bryant, considered one of the greatest players of all time, went No. 13 to the Charlotte Hornets, who on draft night traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Vlade Divac.
Blazers-Lakers Game 7: 2000 Western Conference finals
Kobe Bryant #8 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks for an open man during Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on June 4, 2000 in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers won 98-94. (Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)Getty Images
1985: Karl Malone, a 14-time All-Star and MVP, was selected 13th by the Utah Jazz.
The Blazers should hope to be as fortunate as the teams who chose the players listed above.
INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT
Following a 36-46 season in which the Blazers went 23-18 in the second half, coach Chauncey Billups was asked where the team could find an All-Star. He responded:
“Most people will say, ‘Yeah, go get such and such. But we might have that person. We might already have those guys. But we’ll see.”
The Blazers do have a handful of players whose full potential remains untapped. Sharpe, 22, Henderson, 21, and Clingan, 21, are far too young to be considered finished products. Forwards Deni Avdija, 24, and Toumani Camara, 25, were arguably the team’s two best players last season.
Then there’s guard Anfernee Simons, 26, who has yet to blossom into a star but still has room for growth.
Those six players give the Blazers hope for the future, regardless of what comes out of Wednesday’s draft, free agency, or potential trades.
“There’s a lot of talent on this roster, and I wouldn’t put ceilings on a lot of these guys,” Cronin said. “There’s still a lot of time and a lot of talent that can be maximized here. These guys, I wouldn’t write them off to becoming those star-level guys.”
Portland Trail Blazers vs. New York Knicks basketball
Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe high-fives teammate Scoot Henderson during an NBA game against the New York Knicks at Moda Center on Wednesday, March 12, 2025.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
Billups pointed to the relatively slow development of stars like Gilgeous-Alexander and Antetokounmpo, who blossomed over time. Antetokounmpo became an All-Star in his fourth season. It wasn’t until the fifth season for Booker or Gilgeous-Alexander.
Bringing stars along internally, Billups said, can produce the best overall results.
“I just think there’s beauty in that because, again, when you raise them into that, they’re raised playing the right way,” Billups said.
FREE AGENCY
The Blazers don’t have the cap space available to land a big fish this offseason. But even if they did, luring an All-Star caliber free agent who could impact winning has never been a thing in Portland.
The biggest name the Blazers have ever landed via free agency remains guard Kenny Anderson, who signed with the Blazers in 1996, three years after reaching the All-Star game as a member of the New Jersey Nets.
Other notable signings include Rod Strickland (1992), Brian Grant (1997), Andre Miller (2009) and Wesley Matthews (2010). All four were productive, but none could be credited for lifting the Blazers to prominence.
The Blazers will have exceptions they could use, but those salary slots won’t be large enough to lure star players.
Essentially, at least for now, the free agency route toward acquiring a star is dead.
TRADES
Most NBA championship teams have relied on major trade acquisitions to push them over the top.
“We’ve got to keep getting better externally as well,” Cronin said.
The Blazers have pulled off two trades that led to landing two major pieces, Avdija and Camara, the Suns’ 2023 second-round pick.
The latter was part of the 2023 trade with Phoenix that sent center Jusuf Nurkic and others to the Suns for Deandre Ayton.
On draft day 2024, the Blazers sent guard Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round picks to Washington for Avdija, coming off his best season with the Wizards, which he surpassed this past season with Portland.
Portland Trail Blazers basketball
Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (#33) high0-fives teammates Shaedon Sharpe (#17) and Deni Avdija (#8) during an NBA game against Indiana Pacers at Moda Center on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
Those are the types of subtle trades that have significant impact for a franchise when they pay off.
Five of the Blazers’ 16 past All-Stars were acquired by trading for a young player on the rise.
Maurice Lucas, drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1974, debuted with the Blazers in 1976, made the first of four All-Star appearances and helped Walton lead the team to its only NBA title.
The Lakers selected forward Kermit Washington in the first round of the 1973 draft. He came to Rip City in 1979 and had one All-Star season.
The San Antonio Spurs drafted center Kevin Duckworth in the second round of the 1986 draft. The Blazers acquired him during the following season, and he made two All-Star teams with Portland.
Center Steve Johnson, out of Oregon State, taken at No. 7 during the 1971 draft by the Sacramento Kings, went to the Blazers in 1986 and made the All-Star team during the 1987-88 season.
Washington snagged Rasheed Wallace with the fourth pick in 1995. The following season, he was traded to the Blazers, where he played his way into two All-Star games.
Could Avdija or Camara join this list in the future? Possibly.
Camara just became the first Blazers player named to the All-Defensive team since center Theo Ratliff in 2004. Both landed on the second team.
During the second half of last season, Avdija put up borderline All-Star numbers, averaging 20.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists while shooting 49.2% from the field and 37.4% from three-point range.
The Blazers’ asset strength could improve significantly should Antetokounmpo request a trade.
Bucks guard Lillard, 34, will miss most of next season after rupturing his Achilles during the playoffs. That hurts the Bucks’ chances of contending next season, possibly leading Antetokounmpo, 30, to seek a way out.
Giannis Antetokounmpo & Damian Lillard, Bucks Basketball
Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) walk to the bench during the second half of a first-round NBA basketball playoff game against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)AP
The Blazers could get in on negotiations to land Antetokounmpo, though it’s more likely he would seek to be traded to a team ready to contend. But Antetokounmpo leaving Milwaukee would dramatically increase the value of the 2029 Bucks’ first-round pick, and the 2028 and 2030 pick swaps with the Bucks, owned by the Blazers.
All three assets were acquired through trading Lillard to the Bucks.
Portland could offer teams looking to unload large contracts attached to star players a package of picks and other large contracts it seeks to move.
Ayton has one year remaining on his deal worth $35.5 million. Simons also has one year remaining at $27.7 million. Then there’s forward Jerami Grant’s contract. It carries an unattractive three remaining years and $102.6 million, including a player-option.
Moving contracts and picks is what the Blazers did when they sent Brogdon’s expiring deal worth $22.5 million and two picks to Washington for Avdija.
The trick, of course, is trading for a star with several years remaining on his contract or for a star with fewer years who is willing to re-sign. Giving up assets for a one-year rental for a franchise not remotely close to contending wouldn’t be prudent.
Impactful trades can also be made when acquiring a former All-Star ready to accept a supporting role.
1992 Press Photo Portland Trail Blazers Buck Williams
The Portland Trail Blazers' Buck Williams (52) goes up for a shot against the Denver Nuggets in January 1992. Last week, Williams was named a finalist for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. (Steven Nehl/The Oregonian).Oregonian
In 1989, the Blazers traded oft-injured center Sam Bowie and a draft pick to the New Jersey Nets for forward Buck Williams, a three-time All-Star.
Williams’ scoring dipped with the Blazers, but he became a role-playing force as a rebounder and defender. He helped the Blazers reach the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992 as the perfect complement to Drexler, Porter and Duckworth.
Maybe the Blazers’ most famous trade for a star came in 1999 when the Houston Rockets shipped seven-time All-Star forward Scottie Pippen to Portland.
Pippen, who won six titles with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, was past his prime but gave the Blazers four good seasons and helped Wallace and company reach the 2000 Western Conference Finals.
The fastest way to accelerate the rebuild, however, is to bring in a player already of star caliber. The trade deadline saw a flurry of trades that included star players being dealt throughout the NBA.
Some NBA experts have predicted that this summer could see another flurry of action.
Might the Blazers get involved? That remains to be seen. But nothing they do will matter much in terms of winning until the roster is loaded with more stars than promise.
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @aaronjfentress.bsky.social | @AaronJFentress (X), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts