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Matas Buzelis: "To be honest, who I really want to work with is Deni Avdija. I've been talking with him. It's just, I feel like I was shooting too many threes. I need to get to the rim more. I want to know like how he lowers his shoulder, how he attacks. I seen him in Vegas. We're supposed to work out this weekend. He's somebody, Franz Wagner, probably him, KD, of course. That's who everybody needs to work out with, but I think right now Deni Avdija."
Appearing on the "Ball In The Family" podcast, Chicago Bulls star Matas Buzelis recently identified several players he hopes to train with during the offseason. When asked to name his preferred workout partner, the Lithuanian forward brought up Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija. "Who I really want to work with is Deni Avdija. I've been talking with him and I just feel like I was shooting too many threes. I need to get to the rim more. I wanna know how he lowers his shoulder, how he attacks. I've seen him in Vegas, we're supposed to workout this weekend."
Mr. BuckBuck: Ja Morant about what he learned from his new teammates: "They ragebait a lot. They ragebait a lot, for sure. I feel it's just to turn a competitive, you know, edge, to us. Deni (Avdija) definitely number one, but he for sure like ragebait people to try to make you respond, or get you mad, so when we have to play or something, you have an edge already".
“He’s excited to be on a team with vets like Dame and Jrue, and he loves the young talent of Deni (Avdija), Scoot, (Donovan) Clingan, (Toumani) Camara … I mean, he mentioned them all by name,” Nori said. As they left the restaurant, Nori asked Morant what he needed from him. How could he help? “He just said, ‘Make sure I get some Trail Blazers gear as soon as possible so I can start wearing it,’” Nori said.
The Blazers have immediate needs at center and power forward. They are not expected to retain free agent center Robert Williams III, who is hoping to land a contract in the $15 million a year range, leaving only second-year center Yang Hansen as a backup to Donovan Clingan. The Blazers are also thin at power forward, with Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara their only options.
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ESPN's Shams Charania reported Portland acquired Ja Morant via trade from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, Portland plans on starting Morant and Damian Lillard in the backcourt alongside Deni Avdija on the wing following "a very unconventional move that the franchise believes has upside."
Trail Blazers All-Star forward Deni Avdija was not on the table in trade talks for Antetokounmpo, and he remains off the table in Brown discussions as of now, league sources told HoopsHype. Portland’s other young players, such as Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, are considered available. With Boston considering center upgrades and needing to replace Brown’s position if he’s traded, Portland’s Donovan Clingan and 2025 All-Defensive forward Toumani Camara would both be coveted by Boston. However, neither has been put on the table at this time.
The question for Boston with the Blazers will be what type of package they would demand from Portland. The Blazers have plenty of intriguing young talent across their roster but they would certainly want to retain the majority of it to compete in the Western Conference even after a Brown acquisition. All-Star Deni Avdija would not be on the table in any trade talks, league sources tell MassLive and it would be tough for Boston to pry away Donovan Clingan as well. The Blazers do not have strong center depth behind Clingan with Robert Williams set to hit free agency so trading Clingan for Brown would simply create another hole on the roster.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion presented Israeli NBA star Deni Avdija with the "Jerusalem Ambassador in the Diaspora" award during a gala evening, which concluded the "Coming to Jerusalem" real estate fair in Manhattan on Thursday.
Lion praised Avdija for representing the State of Israel as a public figure in the US and for bringing pride to Jews and Israelis worldwide. "Deni Avdija is not only an extraordinary athlete, first and foremost, he is an ambassador at heart and in spirit for the State of Israel and our values," Lion said.
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Masai Ujiri made his first big move last week, when the Mavericks hired Mike Schmitz as general manager. Schmitz got his start working for the independent scouting service DraftExpress. He was an ESPN analyst for five years and then became the Portland Trail Blazers assistant general manager in 2022. Although Portland’s draft success was mixed in Schmitz’s four years there, he helped drive the decision to trade for Deni Avdija, who was named an All-Star this past season. “I’ve known him for many, many years,” Ujiri said of Schmitz. “Incredible scout. Incredible leader. Just digs deep into work, data and what you want to know about: really scouting players, team building, all those things, you know? Treating people well. Staff organizing. Managing people. It’s a whole package.”
Sean Highkin: Deni Avdija on back issues: "I can say it's behind me. It was frustrating because it was lingering. You have to reinvent yourself and understand how you move more efficiently."
Sean Highkin: Deni Avdija on playing next to Damian Lillard next year: "Me and Dame had conversations throughout the year. He has a lot of things we need. We both have mutual goals and we love each other's games. I think we can do great things together, for sure."
