PORTLAND, Ore. — As the Moda Center blared Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” in celebration of the Portland Trail Blazers’ comfortable 112-97 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night, Deni Avdija walked from the Trail Blazers’ bench toward midcourt to say hello to and hug his ex-teammates.
There was only one problem: In a sign of how thoroughly the Wizards’ roster has been transformed, only seven of Avdija’s former teammates remain on the roster. Tristan Vukčević said hello, and hugs and conversations followed with Bilal Coulibaly and Jordan Poole. But gone are veterans from last year’s roster such as Kyle Kuzma, Tyus Jones and Landry Shamet.
Anthony Gill, one of Avdija’s best friends in Washington, greeted his pal and also introduced Avdija to Bub Carrington. On draft night last June, the Wizards traded Avdija to the Blazers for Carrington’s draft rights, Malcolm Brogdon, a 2029 first-round pick and two future second-round picks.
“I just wanted to make sure there was nothing there,” Gill told The Athletic about introducing Avdija and Carrington. “A lot of people on social media say different things about, ‘Someone was traded just so that this person could come into the organization.’ (Those are) two great men right there, and I wanted them to meet. Deni was a big part of what this organization was building before. Bub is now (a big part of what we’re building). I would love for them to meet, and maybe that way, the next time we come into town, we can all go eat together.”
Avdija is thriving in his new digs, emerging as perhaps the young Blazers’ best all-around player. His performance Monday was middling by his recent standards; he contributed only 15 points, six rebounds and two assists, all below his season averages. Then again, Portland didn’t need much from him, or anyone else. Washington, which had been surging, took definitive steps to protect its lottery odds, holding out Poole and Khris Middleton from the second half and not playing backup center Richaun Holmes.
The trade from Washington is not something the usually affable Avdija enjoys talking about. Before the 2023-24 regular season, he and the Wizards reached a rookie-scale contract extension, which kicked in this season, worth $55 million over four years. At the time he inked that extension, and for months afterward, Avdija considered his new deal as a vote of confidence in him, and rightly so.
The draft-night trade stunned him — and hurt him. In an Instagram story that he posted shortly after the trade, he wrote: “Dc u will forever be in my heart” and included a broken-heart emoji.
When asked about the trade on Sunday, after the Blazers’ win over the Toronto Raptors, he said, “It was nighttime at my place (in Israel), and I woke up. I saw I got traded, and it was very hard for me. All the friendships that I had with the guys there, the city, the fans — it all just disappeared in a second. But everything’s for the good. I feel like I found a nice home in Portland.”
He also took the high road, saying, “I can only control how I play, how I practice, how I prepare myself for the season. If people wanted to trade me, it’s above my paycheck, you know what I’m saying? I don’t control it. I just do whatever I can to win games. That’s about it.”
It took him a little while to adjust to a new team, but he found his groove. On March 10 against Golden State, he scored 34 points on 11-of-15 shooting, collected 16 rebounds and distributed six assists. He followed up two days later versus New York with a 27-point, 15-rebound, five-assist game. Late in Sunday’s victory over Toronto, he extended Portland’s lead to 98-95 on a magnificent driving dunk as he absorbed a foul.
“We’ve let him have a lot more responsibility with the ball, and he keeps proving to get better and better at it,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said.
“He’s like a one-man fast break when he gets the ball. Some of these things, I didn’t even know about when we got him, because we only played him twice a year, so I didn’t know that much. But he’s been a pleasant surprise. The fire that he plays with, I think, takes our team to another level. The edge that he plays with, the toughness that he plays with — we need it.”
Washington has missed Avdija’s one-on-one defensive ability, rebounding and playmaking. His toughness has been filled by this season’s trade-deadline acquisitions of Middleton and Marcus Smart and the elevation of Holmes into the backup center role.
The Wizards also miss the camaraderie Avdija brought to their locker room. “We were always together,” Coulibaly said. “Me, him and A.G. (Anthony Gill) going to dinner together and all that. On and off the court, he was helping me all the time.”
Coulibaly and Gill said they spent time with Avdija on Sunday night, after the Wizards arrived in Portland from Denver and after the Blazers faced the Raptors.
“It’s such a blessing, honestly, to be able to see him,” Gill said. “He brings so much joy. He brought so much joy to this organization.”
Avdija remains close with coach Brian Keefe and with the Wizards’ support staff.
“(He has an) infectious personality,” Keefe said. “I loved his care about the game, how much time he put into it and how much better he got during the year (last season). I really enjoyed watching him progress.”
Now the Trail Blazers and fans in Portland are enjoying that progression for themselves.
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(Photo: Soobum Im / Imagn Images)
