Trail Blazers Sign Knicks Champion Forward To Play With Ja Morant

The Portland Trail Blazers added an NBA champion forward from the New York Knicks this offseason, following some impressive trades. 

On Saturday, the Trail Blazers acquired Jeremy Sochan, who played for the New York Knicks during their championship run last season. 

Sochan has agreed to a one-year contract with the Blazers, as reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania. The 23-year-old forward moves into Portland’s rotation, which is expected to be stacked with the addition of Ja Morant last month and the return of Damian Lillard. 

“Free agent forward Jeremy Sochan has agreed to a one-year deal to sign with the Portland Trail Blazers, agent Deirunas Visockas of Gersh Sports tells ESPN. Sochan — who has averaged 9.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists entering his fifth NBA season — finished 2025-26 on the championship Knicks,” Charania wrote in the X post that broke the news. 

Jeremy Sochan Seen As Big Boost To Trail Blazers Frontcourt

GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 17: Forward Jeremy Sochan #20 of the New York Knicks talks with assistant coach Brendan O’Connor during the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden on March 17, 2026 in New York City. The Knicks won 136-110. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Sochan is expected to backstop the Blazers’ forwards such as Robert Williams, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Shakedown Shapre and more. 

Portland will boast a solid guard rotation led by Lillard, Morant, Jrue Holiday, and Scoot Henderson.

Sochan split the 2025–2026 NBA season between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks, averaging 3.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists across 44 total regular-season games. 

He finished the year strong by winning his first NBA championship with the Knicks after they defeated the Spurs in the NBA Finals.

He only played briefly in the first half of Game 4 and another quick stint in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, finishing the championship series with essentially no measurable individual statistics.

Now, Sochan joins the Blazers, who lost in the first round against the Spurs in the playoffs. They finished with the seventh seed in the Western Conference. 

Blazers Want To Win Next Season

GettyPORTLAND, OREGON – DECEMBER 26: (L-R) Toumani Camara #33, Robert Williams III #35, Deni Avdija #8, Rayan Rupert #21 and Caleb Love #2 of the Portland Trail Blazers look on during the first half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Moda Center on December 26, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)

Following their first playoff appearance in nearly five years last season, Blazers owner Tom Dundon wants to continue the team’s winning momentum. 

“We’ve tried to get this message through the last couple of days that that was fun, and probably necessary, but it’s more fun to win,” Dundon said in April. “It’s more fun to do the things that lead to success and hopefully we’ll start creating more habits, that those processes lead to the kind of winning that I expect, and I think everybody expects.”

Blazers have since made a blockbuster splash this offseason by trading for star guard Ja Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. They also re-signed center Robert Williams III to a three-year extension worth $44 million.

“If that opportunity exists, I’m probably more aggressive than most,” Dundon said before the offseason. “If it doesn’t exist, then you’ve got to go about finding the pieces to continue to get better, then decide if you can get good enough to win a championship, or you have to take a step back.”

The Blazers are now expected to be a dark horse contender in a stacked Western Conference in the upcoming NBA season.

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