Maccabi Tel Aviv U18 Alumni in the NBA | Sept. 6–12, 2026
Deni Avdija just delivered the best season of his career — and it may have played out in a Portland Trail Blazers uniform for the last time.
The 25-year-old forward, a product of the Maccabi Tel Aviv U18 academy, earned his first All-Star selection in 2025–26, averaging 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game in his second season with Portland. He finished third in Most Improved Player voting. The Trail Blazers snapped a three-year playoff drought — their best showing since 2021 — with Avdija as the unquestioned centerpiece.
Then came training camp week, and the news got complicated fast.
Injury Cloud Descends on Portland Camp
Heavy Sports reported that the Trail Blazers received troubling injury news surrounding Avdija just before the start of training camp. Details of the injury's nature or severity were not fully disclosed, but the timing is damaging — both for Portland's preparation and for any ongoing contract extension talks. The franchise has already drawn criticism for what sources describe as a chaotic internal environment and reluctance to spend, and bad medical news heading into camp does nothing to ease those concerns.
Warriors Circle as Trade Speculation Heats Up
The injury report arrived alongside a separate and significant piece of reporting: a new account claiming Portland will likely lose Avdija altogether, with the Golden State Warriors emerging as a realistic destination. According to Heavy Sports, the Warriors — looking to build one more contender around Stephen Curry — are being linked to Avdija as a genuine target, not just a pipe dream.
The fit makes intuitive sense. Golden State needs a versatile, high-usage forward who can handle the ball and create off the bounce. Avdija, who nearly tripled his scoring average from his Washington days, now profiles as exactly that player. For a Curry-led team hunting relevance, adding an All-Star in his mid-20s would represent a legitimate win-now move.
What It Means for Portland
For the Trail Blazers, the stakes are straightforward and uncomfortable: extend Avdija and commit real money, or risk watching the player who ended their playoff drought walk — or get traded — out the door. The combination of a murky injury situation and an organization that has been characterized as unwilling to spend aggressively creates an opening for a motivated suitor like Golden State to exploit.
Avdija has gone from a promising prospect out of Tel Aviv to one of the more coveted forwards in the league in the span of two seasons. How Portland navigates the next several weeks of training camp could define the franchise's trajectory for years. The Trail Blazers built something with him. The question now is whether they're willing to do what it takes to keep it.
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