Portland Trail Blazers open up training camp at UCSB

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Add the Portland Trail Blazers to the list of NBA teams who love coming to Santa Barbara for training camp.

Today was the first day of camp for the Blazers who practiced at Rob Gym.

The Lakers, Clippers, Kings and Grizzlies are other NBA teams that have held training camp in Santa Barbara.

Portland is trying to bounce back from a disappointing season that saw them miss the playoffs, ending a run of 8 straight postseason appearances.

Of course Portland superstar Damian Lillard missed most of the season as he had abdominal surgery in January and he played in just 29 games.

Lillard signed a contract extension that could keep him in a Portland uniform through the 2026-'27 season.

The team also re-signed Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic.

They also added guard Gary Payton II and veteran forward Jerami Grant.

Head coach Chauncey Billups is entering his second season on the bench for the Blazers.

Portland is expected to train at UCSB through Saturday.