Cronin is a genius

[LayneStaley]

So even with everyone in agreement that we are nowhere near contention we still don’t entertain a Dame trade this summer or next deadline? Do we wait until when/if he requests one? If someone offers us 5 1s we say no? Even though every year we waste another season of his career it makes it more and more unlikely we win a championship with him. Not advocating for a trade just curious what the general view is now that we all know we are nowhere close to being a contender.

 

[TBpup]

Cronin is going to have to convince Dame this is the last year of 'retooling'. If they don't make the Playoffs, they could have a Lottery pick and another 1st, say around #20 from the Knicks. It they do make the Playoffs, their pick goes to the Bulls but then they package the Knicks pick with their own future picks which they would then finally have control over. I'd like to see what Schmitz could do with 2 1st round picks, but likely they would package those together with a young player (some of them could get a lot of time and build some stats) and go take a BIG swing at a difference maker.

 

[MickZagger]

They reportedly never interviewed anyone else for the job. It kind of leads me to believe:

A.) ownership and the powers that be are too incompetent to know what to look for in a candidate.

or

B.) Joe is just the kind of yes man they wanted. Middle man if you will.

 

[MickZagger]

So even with everyone in agreement that we are nowhere near contention we still don’t entertain a Dame trade this summer or next deadline? Do we wait until when/if he requests one? If someone offers us 5 1s we say no? Even though every year we waste another season of his career it makes it more and more unlikely we win a championship with him. Not advocating for a trade just curious what the general view is now that we all know we are nowhere close to being a contender.

Waiting until he demands one and the return value will be considerably lower.

There’s talk that we once could’ve got Paul George for CJ. Instead we got back Josh Hart.

Shit or get off the pot.

 

[Natebishop3]

And then you’ll be the new owner.

Be prepared for being constantly denigrated.

I'd deserve it if I was anything like this shit show.

 

[maxiep]

So then why did Cronin promise a single?!

Did he?

 

[illmatic99]

They reportedly never interviewed anyone else for the job. It kind of leads me to believe:

A.) ownership and the powers that be are too incompetent to know what to look for in a candidate.

or

B.) Joe is just the kind of yes man they wanted. Middle man if you will.

C. he was available for cheap because he has 0 experience. I would venture he's the lowest paid GM in the league.

 

[illmatic99]

What would it take for you to think this team can contend next season? I don't see a path.

sharpe popping is literally the ONLY way. we don't have the contracts or picks to make any meaningful deals without including Ant. maybe we can S&T jerami but what's the point of that? there are literally no avenues to trade for a player making ~30 mil without giving up Ant or Sharpe.

 

[B-Roy]

sharpe popping is literally the ONLY way. we don't have the contracts or picks to make any meaningful deals without including Ant. maybe we can S&T jerami but what's the point of that? there are literally no avenues to trade for a player making ~30 mil without giving up Ant or Sharpe.

I mean trading Ant should absolutely be on the table.

1.) He has actual value.

2.) Sharpe has starter+ potential.

The ideal scenario is that Sharpe pops and Ant builds enough value to where we can actually move him + assets for a true all-star level wing. Lowe said on his podcast today there are a few (star) names that are teams are actively monitoring and likely to shake loose in the summer. No reporting from me, but Jaylen Brown? Siakam? KAT?

 

[illmatic99]

I mean trading Ant should absolutely be on the table.

1.) He has actual value.

2.) Sharpe has starter+ potential.

The ideal scenario is that Sharpe pops and Ant builds enough value to where we can actually move him + assets for a true all-star level wing. Lowe said on his podcast today there are a few (star) names that are teams are actively monitoring and likely to shake loose in the summer. No reporting from me, but Jaylen Brown? Siakam? KAT?

i'm thinking of this stuff in the context of us truly elevating to contender status.

and my thinking is that the only way is to trade for another borderline all star while keeping the core (dame/ant/jerami/sharpe) intact. exchanging one of ant or jerami or even sharpe for a similar caliber player but a better positional fit will not elevate us to contender level even if we improve from our current level.

yes, i'm sure guys will shake loose. you mentioned the one i'm keeping my eye on a guy and have been wanting to pair with dame for years: KAT.

 

[BankTeller]

i'm thinking of this stuff in the context of us truly elevating to contender status.

and my thinking is that the only way is to trade for another borderline all star while keeping the core (dame/ant/jerami/sharpe) intact. exchanging one of ant or jerami or even sharpe for a similar caliber player but a better positional fit will not elevate us to contender level even if we improve from our current level.

yes, i'm sure guys will shake loose. you mentioned the one i'm keeping my eye on a guy and have been wanting to pair with dame for years: KAT.

I mentioned KAT as a guy I’d want on the Blazers as well earlier in the season and someone wisely pointed this out to me: $53m in 25-26, $57m in 26-27, and a $61m PO in 27-28 is a disgusting amount of money for someone who’s played 51+ games just once in the last four years.

I’ll pass on KAT.

 

[HailBlazers]

Did he?

No.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

I think we have a 10 game window to see if we make the play in before its Tank Time.

This is kind of where I'm at. Hear me out.
First you have Sharpe decline the dunk contest and work on his game.
You trade away Hart and Payton and bring in some length. Possible decent role players.
You finish this small home stand before the break and try to win the last few games.
10 day mini camp during the break.
Last 24 games you see what happens?
If this falls apart in the first 5-6 games after the break you start moving toward the draft. They won't be in the 1-3 spot but they could grab a 4-10 spot and who knows? Luck sometimes happens? It's happened before.
Remember Nurk is out trying to get healthy. If he comes back energized and they do well on the road trip that is ahead of them they might make a little noise?

 

[Fairly-Hard]

What would it take for you to think this team can contend this season? I don't see a path.

He said "Play-in". If the Blazers can make the playoffs I'm all for it. Just my take. If that means win through the play in to get there I'm all for that as well.
Always play to win unless that path gets shut down for the last 20 games. Then you make sure Lillard, Grant, Nurk, Simons don't get hurt. Play Sharpe as much as possible and get him experience.
Again you got to remember who you are talking to here. I'm terrible about hating the idea of losing on purpose. Just kills my soul.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Last 24 games you see what happens?
If this falls apart in the first 5-6 games after the break you start moving toward the draft. They won't be in the 1-3 spot but they could grab a 4-10 spot and who knows? Luck sometimes happens? It's happened before.
Remember Nurk is out trying to get healthy. If he comes back energized and they do well on the road trip that is ahead of them they might make a little noise?

You could be right but unless we are way out of the 10th spot I don't think they will "look towards the draft" until April 2nd. Right now we are in 10th but the Lakers will pass us thanks to the fucking Jazz taking Westbrook's contract off their hands. Minnesota is the one team that could drop who is above us and what happens with these teams will be a factor too: Jazz, OKC, SA, and Houston. Will they all tank?

 

[Fairly-Hard]

You could be right but unless we are way out of the 10th spot I don't think they will "look towards the draft" until April 2nd. Right now we are in 10th but the Lakers will pass us thanks to the fucking Jazz taking Westbrook's contract off their hands. Minnesota is the one team that could drop who is above us and what happens with these teams will be a factor too: Jazz, OKC, SA, and Houston. Will they all tank?

Again. My take on this would be the wrong approach I'm certain.
I absolutely abhor the very idea of trying to lose. It just goes against my very core as a human being.
So until it's absolutely fruitless in any way I will promote winning.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

Ha Ha Ha
I'm a fucking Klingon.

I WILL DIE IN BATTLE AND IT WILL BE GLORIOUS!

 

[SharpesTriumph]

sharpe popping is literally the ONLY way. we don't have the contracts or picks to make any meaningful deals without including Ant. maybe we can S&T jerami but what's the point of that? there are literally no avenues to trade for a player making ~30 mil without giving up Ant or Sharpe.

I've seen this repeated a few times and its totally false.

Blazers can trade Nurk, Little, Knox, and or Keon at the draft. Depending on the level of star maybe Simons is in the discussions as well. In free agency the Blazers could do trades by sending out those as well as one or more of Reddish, Thybulle, Winslow, or Eubanks on a new contract.

If the Blazers are able to land a $30million star in the summer matching contracts will not be a blocker. Yes it might need to be more creative than in other years where they had a number of 5-12 million contracts sitting around. But its certainly something any reasonable NBA front office salary cap personnel can structure.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

If Lillard is OK with waiting another year,the Blazers should be tanking hard by limiting his minutes and playing Sharpe and Walker and the young (good) guys a lot of minutes.

Well, with the present roster, he doesn't have much choice except to wait. Although he still might pull this group into the playoffs. I doubt that he will allow them to limit his minutes.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Cronin is going to have to convince Dame this is the last year of 'retooling'. If they don't make the Playoffs, they could have a Lottery pick and another 1st, say around #20 from the Knicks. It they do make the Playoffs, their pick goes to the Bulls but then they package the Knicks pick with their own future picks which they would then finally have control over. I'd like to see what Schmitz could do with 2 1st round picks, but likely they would package those together with a young player (some of them could get a lot of time and build some stats) and go take a BIG swing at a difference maker.

Right. Who knows what can happen to teams for the rest of the season. Who might be surprisingly available....

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I mentioned KAT as a guy I’d want on the Blazers as well earlier in the season and someone wisely pointed this out to me: $53m in 25-26, $57m in 26-27, and a $61m PO in 27-28 is a disgusting amount of money for someone who’s played 51+ games just once in the last four years.

I’ll pass on KAT.

I'll pass because I just don't think he is a winner.

 

[Chris Craig]

Cronin is going to have to convince Dame this is the last year of 'retooling'. If they don't make the Playoffs, they could have a Lottery pick and another 1st, say around #20 from the Knicks. It they do make the Playoffs, their pick goes to the Bulls but then they package the Knicks pick with their own future picks which they would then finally have control over. I'd like to see what Schmitz could do with 2 1st round picks, but likely they would package those together with a young player (some of them could get a lot of time and build some stats) and go take a BIG swing at a difference maker.

If the Blazers missed the playoffs and didn't get number 1, it would probably be best to package the pick with the Knicks pick and trade for a good player.

 

[Chris Craig]

I think we have a 10 game window to see if we make the play in before its Tank Time.

That window will be pivotal for sure.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

If the Blazers missed the playoffs and didn't get number 1, it would probably be best to package the pick with the Knicks pick and trade for a good player.

If the Blazers have a lottery pick and a draft pick why don't they just draft BPA?

Trading those picks for "a good player" won't have the Blazers contending. So isn't it better to be patient and try to hit on some rookies?

 

[Chris Craig]

If the Blazers have a lottery pick and a draft pick why don't they just draft BPA?

Trading those picks for "a good player" won't have the Blazers contending. So isn't it better to be patient and try to hit on some rookies?

I don't think we have time with Dame to keep drafting rookies.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

I don't think we have time with Dame to keep drafting rookies.

That ship has sailed. Prime Dame's chance to contend with vets likely ended back when the team traded four starters for Hart and Didi starting with the horrific Clippers trade.

If the Blazers can flip draft picks for a legit star, plus keep all their rotational veterans, then construct a contender; well sure go ahead and explore it. I'm just not going to count on some miracle such as that happening.

So the likely case is the Blazers need to have patience to build with youth; not the band aid "good" veteran additions they've been trying over and over while giving up picks the last decade.

 

[AngryFan]

I don't think we have time with Dame to keep drafting rookies.

You can't honestly think there is any other route outside of the draft. Our trade assets are crap. There is no path to putting a contender around Dame outside of drafting the next superstar.

 

[Pinwheel1]

You can't honestly think there is any other route outside of the draft. Our trade assets are crap. There is no path to putting a contender around Dame outside of drafting the next superstar.

So no one wanted Sharpe? I am glad they did not trade him, but to say we do not have any trade assets is incorrect IMO

 

[Cugel]

I think it's worth making a mental list of Cronin's "moves to build around Dame". None of them have provided anything concrete. Just go down the list, start with CJ and end with GPII. I know, I know you are saying "Grant!". Grant did not sign his deal. If Portland is "forced" to give him the max to keep him then that is another huge negative for Cronin. If he walks then CJ and Nance yielded the FRP and Reddish from NYN for Hart and THAT'S IT. GPII was another massive failure. Embarrassing signing that yielded in return SHIT SRPs, a number of which will never convey.
100% on board with new ownership and new GM

 

[AngryFan]

We have ownership that won't go into the tax and are a franchise that has to overpay players to keep them after their rookie deals. We should be living through the draft.

So no one wanted Sharpe? I am glad they did not trade him, but to say we do not have any trade assets is incorrect IMO

I obviously meant in regards to being able to trade for the ingredients for a contender around Dame. Show me the path of how you leverage Sharpe into a contender?