As Deni Avdija plopped down in front of his locker late Sunday night to discuss the biggest achievement of his basketball career, he couldn’t help but feel mixed emotions.
On the one hand, the Blazers forward learned only hours earlier that he had been voted to the Western Conference All-Star team, cementing his status as one of the NBA’s budding stars.
On the other hand, his balky back kept him off the court and the Blazers stumbled without him, suffering a 130-111 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers before 17,240 at Moda Center
“I have a lot of other things I think about,” Avdija said, when asked about his first All-Star selection. “We’re struggling a little bit right now as a team, so I’m thinking more about the team right now than actually the All-Star (game).”
In many ways, Avdija’s bittersweet night mirrored the Blazers on a topsy-turvy Sunday filled with a wide and strange range of highs and lows.
It started Sunday morning when general manager Joe Cronin made his first trade of 2026, acquiring Vit Krejci from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Duop Reath and two second-round draft picks. The move came four days before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline and brought much-needed long-range shooting and experience to the Blazers’ chase for a spot in the play-in tournament.
Krejci, a 6-foot-8 guard from the Czech Republic, is averaging 9.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists this season, and he ranks 19th in the NBA in three-point shooting (43.7%). His addition helps shore up one of the biggest weaknesses for a team that entered Sunday ranked last in the league in long-range shooting (33.6%).
“He’s excited about coming here,” Blazers acting coach Tiago Splitter said, revealing that he spoke with Krejci after the trade. “Great shooter. A guy that doesn’t need many inches to shoot the basketball. And I think we are thirsty for a shooter like him … he’s a player that’s going to help us a lot.”
Additional help arrived Sunday in the form of Blake Wesley, who had not played since fracturing a bone in his right foot on Halloween. The jitterbug backup point guard, who was so instrumental in helping establish the Blazers’ early-season identity, made his long-awaited return against the Cavaliers, recording five points, four assists, three rebounds and one steal in 19 minutes.
Wesley entered the game with 3:46 left in the first quarter to a nice ovation from the Rip City faithful and went on to showcase his trademark speed, playmaking and pressure defense. He tossed his first assist during his first shift, connecting with Caleb Love on a midrange jumper, then found his groove in the third quarter when he tossed three assists and swished his only three-point attempt. During one impressive sequence, Wesley corralled a rebound on defense, bolted up the court on a fast break and heaved an alley-oop lob to Shaedon Sharpe for a highlight-reel dunk.
Afterward, Wesley said he was still trying to work himself back into shape after missing three months, but he left pleased with his performance.
“I feel like I did what the team wanted me to do,” he said. “Bring the energy. Bring the spark off the bench. That’s what I’m known to do. So I’m going to continue to do that.”
On a normal day, the combination of the Krejci trade, Wesley’s return and Avdija’s All-Star berth would have generated a little positive mojo for the Blazers. But the feel-good vibes started to wane about 90 minutes before tipoff, when Avdija was ruled out after testing his lower back strain during a pregame warmup. And they vanished shortly after tipoff, when Cleveland center Jarrett Allen and the Cavaliers punked Portland in its first game in February.
Allen had a career night against center Donovan Clingan and the Blazers, erupting for 40 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. He punished the Blazers in the paint, unleashing a barrage of dunks, short hooks and layups, as he made 16 of 23 shots and finished with a career-high in scoring.
Sam Merrill added 22 points and six three-pointers and Jaylon Tyson had 18 points and six assists for the Cavaliers (30-21), who shot 55% from the field, including 47% from three-point range. But it was Allen — who opened his big night with 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks in the first quarter — who will haunt the Blazers during film review sessions of Sunday’s defeat.
“In Brazil, we have a saying: ‘You don’t sharpen the knife of your enemy,’” said Splitter, who coached Allen for three years when the pair were in Brooklyn. “We didn’t expect that game from him, but he played outstanding and I think we did a poor job guarding him. He’s a good friend, a very good player. You want to see young guys developing and get better, but not against our team, and (it was) probably one of the best games of his career. So, again, poor job by our bigs, by our team, guarding him.”
The poor defense sparked those mixed emotions for Avdija, who watched from the bench in street clothes as the Blazers (23-27) suffered their season-worst fifth consecutive defeat and took another step away from their promising January hot streak.
How quickly they regain their mojo rests in large part on the back of Avdija. Literally.
The newly-minted All-Star reiterated that his injury is not serious, but he refused to speculate after the game how long he might be sidelined, noting that was “the doctor’s job.” Avdija suffered his injury on Jan. 11 and has missed six of the last 10 games.
“I always want to play,” he said. “And you know me, I’m a very tough guy. I never want to sit out and it’s very hard to see my teammates out there playing and really competing and I’m not able to help. But at the end of the day, there is still a long season to go and there (are) still accomplishments that we need to do. And I don’t want to be half Deni in those. I really want to be myself.
“I am close to being healthy, but I didn’t feel right. And I don’t think it’s responsible to put myself out there if I’m not right.”
And so it was that a day of trades, All-Star berths and feel-good returns was dampened by injuries and defeats.
But in a season that has featured more twists and turns than anyone could have predicted, the Blazers left a topsy-turvy Sunday feeling reassured that, at the very least, they’ve faced more trying obstacles.
“It’s easy to go the other way or feel sorry for ourselves,” said Blazers guard Caleb Love, who scored 21 points off the bench. “We’ve lost (five) in a row, but I just think we’ve got to go back to the drawing board, get our juice back, get our swag back and I think we’ll be just fine.”
Next up: The Blazers play the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Moda Center.