EA Sports NBA Live 15 has selected Damian Lillard as its cover athlete.

"I'm so honored and I'm so blessed to be in this position," said Lillard. "I'm so thankful to EA Sports for making me the cover guy. It's been a long time coming. It took a lot of hard work, and it's a dream come true."

Lillard is entering his third NBA season with the Portland Trail Blazers and also signed a major endorsement contract with Adidas this year.

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed Darius Morris to a non-guaranteed camp contract.

Morris has played on four NBA teams since being picked in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft.

Morris played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Memphis Grizzlies.

Greg Monroe's agent explored sign-and-trade scenarios with at least five other teams, including the Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers.

Monroe and agent David Falk never sought an offer sheet from another team.

Monroe ultimately was forced to sign for the qualifying offer with the Detroit Pistons and will become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.

The Portland Trail Blazers are one of three teams to submit a bid to host the 2017 or 2018 NBA All-Star Game.

"It's going to be the biggest event from a sports perspective hosted in Oregon's history, I think," Blazers' president Chris McGowan said.

The Charlotte Hornets have also submitted a bid, along with a third unnamed team.

Portland recently hosted a hugely succesful MLS All-Star Game.

"This isn't a money-maker for us -- hosting these events actually costs money," McGowan said. "But it's so great for the city of Portland and the region that Paul's completely supportive of it, and obviously, everybody knows how big a fan he is of the NBA. He definitely thinks the fans deserve it, but he would also love to witness a game in his arena and in the city in which he's owned a team for a long time."

Portland supposedly hasn't had enough hotel rooms in the past, but the pending convention center hotel is supposed to help.

Portland has never hosted an NBA All-Star Game.

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed Diante Garrett to a non-guaranteed two-year deal, according to a source.

The Blazers can control Garrett's rights if he makes the team out of training camp in October.

Garrett played for the Utah Jazz last season.

James Southerland has signed a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, a league source told RealGM.

Southerland, a 6-foot-8 sharpshooter, played four games for the New Orleans Pelicans and Charlotte Hornets in his rookie season. After going undrafted out of Syracuse, Southerland signed a training camp contract with Charlotte and earned its final regular-season roster spot.

Southerland averaged 3.5 points and two rebounds while hitting three of six 3-pointers a year ago. In the middle of his release from Charlotte and signing with New Orleans, Southerland logged 42 games with the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the D-League. 

Southerland played for the Pelicans’ summer league team in July.

As a senior at Syracuse, Southerland found a niche on a talented roster, averaged 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds and solidified himself as one of the top shooters in the 2013 NBA draft.