On the first day of the Trail Blazers' new era last summer, the franchise announced a five-year contract extension for All-Star point guard Damian Lillard shortly before unveiling free agent signings Al-Farouq Aminu and Ed Davis, both of whom inked long-term deals in Portland last July.
While Lillard and fellow cornerstone CJ McCollum's scoring outbursts grabbed the headlines in Wednesday's 112-94 season-opening win over the New Orleans Pelicans, it was Aminu and Davis doing the dirty work on the defensive end of the court to stymie a Pelicans squad that many pundits project to return to the playoffs in 2015-16.