The Portland Trail Blazers have one of the more unique rosters in the NBA going into the 2026-27 season.

The Blazers have a surplus of point guards and centers, but they are lacking when it comes to wing players and power forwards. The team essentially has four point guards in Damian Lillard, Ja Morant, Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday while they also have four centers in Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams III, Yang Hansen and Branden Carlson. One could argue Micah Potter is also a center, but he could also play power forward.

That's half of their squad, which leaves the remaining players to make up the other three positions, forcing them to play out of position. These players — Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Sidy Cissoko, Vit Krejci, Shaedon Sharpe and Jeremy Sochan — make up the rest of the roster, but none of them are a true power forward, which could harm them in matchups throughout the season.

Blazers Need True Power Forward

The Blazers will likely have Avdija fill this role in the starting lineup. At 6'8" with his wing-like tendencies, he will struggle on defense against some of the better, stronger power forwards in the league.

Sochan has also played power forward throughout his career, but he is currently on a non-guaranteed contract and isn't expected to be on the team for very long. If Sochan plays well during training camp, he could earn a spot and fill a massive need for the team. He would have to perform beyond expectations to stick around for the regular season.

It might make the most sense for the Blazers to play Potter more often as a power forward, but his defense is not up to par compared to other players. The big reason the Indiana Pacers released him from his contract earlier in the offseason was his defense, as they felt Larry Nance Jr. was a better fit for the team's roster in that specific area.

Potter is also on a non-guaranteed contract and won't see that full guarantee come until January, so he is not expected to be part of the team's future for long.

Getting a true power forward is someone who can play physical with some of the big players in the league. Portland's roster is so skewed towards the guard position that a lot of their lineups will feature at least two, possibly three, small guards. This will put them at a potentially massive disadvantage against teams that opt to play with more size.

Players like Jarred Vanderbilt of the Los Angeles Lakers fit this build and could make sense for the Blazers in a possible trade.