Exclusive Joe Cronin presser

[RonBrewer]

I'm not ready to give up on Dame. The Blazers and fans shouldn't be either. He had his best season last year. It's terrible people here are treating him like a fucking nobody.

Fucking idiots. Every last one of them

 

[Chris Craig]

Yeah we can sign Grant to a reasonable contract with either path. But we should not overpay Grant as we did with Nurk as then Grant has negative trade value.

If Grant walks, fine that's better then being stuck with a bad contract the next 5 years.

Grant is going to want to get paid. I don't see it being an exactly team friendly signing.

 

[bemac]

It'll be because he has an actual team around him.

I think we're saying the same thing. Portland is now building that team, but the timeline is off. We can't look back at the woulda coulda shoulda shit...The past is the past. Moving forward, they need to stick with Cronin and the team around him, and let them do their job. Build a winning team. The previous folks failed to do it on Dame's timeline and they can no longer waste time trying to correct the mistakes of the past, especially in a small market.

Tabula Rasa...And this is a hell of a start.

 

[PCmor7]

They can, but not only hasn't it just gotten harder, Dame has to be willing to continue being patient.

It's true in large part.

However, it's only as difficult as Dame makes it.

Unfortunately, anything short of Dame coming out and saying "I'm completely on board with what the Trail Blazers are doing. I love the idea of facing the challenges and mentoring a guy like Scoot. It was the best move for the team and I am all about the team." is going to be interpreted by pundits, fans of other teams and even Blazer fans in their own lens. Heck, even when Dame comes out and says he embraces the grind, he's not requesting a trade, I plan to be playing for the Blazers, he wants to play his entire career here and his goal is to win a championship with the Blazers, our own fans and fellow board members take the parts of it that suit their perspective, leave out the rest and approach it like it came from the oracle of Delphi.

None of us know what Dame really thinks or feels or if anything's changed or not. One would hope he and Cronin and ownership have had honest discussions about it. If they had, there shouldn't be a problem. We all can be blind fans or chicken littles as long as the most important parties are on the same page.

People can say "Dame doesn't want to look like the bad guy." Maybe there's truth in that, but it doesn't really hold water to me. I don't think more than 1% of Blazer fans would hold it against him if he said "You know, I really wanted to win a championship here, and, even if I didn't, chasing a championship with an organization facing bigger challenges and being a full part of the community away from the court meant more to me. But, over the last couple of years, my perspective changed, and I really want to feel what it's like being on the court having a role in determining who wins Game 7 of an NBA Finals, and I don't think I can do that in Portland, but it's become the most important thing to me now that my career is inevitably drawing to a conclusion." A few people would be butthurt and roast him for saying one thing and going back on it, but I think the vast majority of Blazer fans could understand and respect that.

Anyway, yeah, it all comes down to what Dame wants and how he wants to play it. This doesn't have to be contentious and/or shrouded in secrecy if he doesn't choose for it to be.

 

[TBpup]

I'm curious, please identify who is treating Dame like a nobody?

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Grant is going to want to get paid. I don't see it being an exactly team friendly signing.

Then let another team get stuck with it.

Yeah kind of sucks we lost the Duren pick for a guy who walks. Or another way of viewing it is we traded CJ for Kris... But those are sunk costs. Blazers aren't contending. Cap space probably has more value in trades now with the new CBA. Blazers should hold firm on not overpaying Grant.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Grant is going to want to get paid. I don't see it being an exactly team friendly signing.

I think 25 mil is a team-friendly signing. But he will probably get 30. Will that extra 5 make that much of a difference? Not sure.

 

[e_blazer]

I'd say the decision to win with vets around Dame next season has been made, and that was a no.

I don’t think this is exactly correct. I think the decision has been made, at least for now, to keep Scoot and include him in the rotation rather than using him as a trading chip for an All-Star. I think the plan will be to beef up the roster with more vets using the TPMLE and trades.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

I think 25 mil is a team-friendly signing. But he will probably get 30. Will that extra 5 make that much of a difference? Not sure.

I'd say yes. At 30 mil it's likely a negative contract. Maybe there is a tiny chance it's a bit positive, but much more likely it has negative value. If the Blazers are keeping it for years and want to win next season maybe you eat that cost. But with the Blazers current direction it's better to walk away.

If he wants to come back for 20-25 million then bring him back.

 

[PCmor7]

Agreed.

I'd say the decision to win with vets around Dame next season has been made, and that was a no.

Dame might be traded in a few weeks or he might retire playing his whole career in Portland, such as 5 years from now.

I think it was partially made for the Blazers, too. If Siakam says he's not re-signing with Portland, trading the third pick for him would have been negligence of the highest order, let alone trading him and someone like Ant. If the Pels really demanded Sharpe along with No. 3 for the 280-pound question mark that is Zion, then, again, it'd be stupid for Cronin to make that deal. People can say all they want that Cronin has to swing for the fences; that's a heck of a lot easier to say when you don't have to actually do it and live with the potential consequence of being unemployed if Zion gets hurt again and again, and either eats or porn stars himself out of the NBA.

And, absolutely, people are acting like the end of the book was written when Scoot was drafted last night. It's not even close to that. We have trade opportunities and free agency and still several chips to play that might not make this team a contender overnight but might make it a lot better team. People don't even have to be overly patient ... just wait a few weeks to see what plays out.

What some fans are doing right now are complaining about the taste of the cake that still has 20 minutes in the oven to bake.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

I don’t think this is exactly correct. I think the decision has been made, at least for now, to keep Scoot and include him in the rotation rather than using him as a trading chip for an All-Star. I think the plan will be to beef up the roster with more vets using the TPMLE and trades.

Well sure, I'd say that's just semantics.

If the Blazers traded 3 and Ant for an All NBA vet then 2 of the Blazers 3 best assets are All NBA vets. With Grant possibly being 3 of best 4 players being vets.

Instead 3 of the Blazers 4 best assets are young kids. The direction is clear.

An MLE vet addition doesn't change the foundation of this team, it would change the bench. Hey I might be for that addition and a nice dual timelines next year. But our core is still 75% young.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I'd say yes. At 30 mil it's likely a negative contract. Maybe there is a tiny chance it's a bit positive, but much more likely it has negative value. If the Blazers are keeping it for years and want to win next season maybe you eat that cost. But with the Blazers current direction it's better to walk away.

If he wants to come back for 20-25 million then bring him back.

Remember, a 5/150 starts at 25.8 this year. Not saying he's worth that much, but it's not far off from what you're suggesting. He'd actually have to take a pay cut to come back on a 20M AAV deal.

 

[Strenuus]

I'm not ready to give up on Dame. The Blazers and fans shouldn't be either. He had his best season last year. It's terrible people here are treating him like a fucking nobody.

I don't think anyone is. Joe (like @illmatic99 said) has us on a two timeline thing. There's still more work to be done, roster to be finalized, etc. But we had to think about post-dame too. I dunno who to ultimately blame for fucking up the last few years (mainly Olshey, but Joes trades haven't been the best... But was that because of Olsheys mess he had to clean)?

It's a really confusing time for the team but I'm glad Joe didn't panic and perhaps set us back for years after Dame when there wasn't enough big time changes to warrant risking our future.

 

[e_blazer]

Well sure, I'd say that's just semantics.

If the Blazers traded 3 and Ant for an All NBA vet then 2 of the Blazers 3 best assets are All NBA vets. With Grant possibly being 3 of best 4 players being vets.

Instead 3 of the Blazers 4 best assets are young kids. The direction is clear.

An MLE vet addition doesn't change the foundation of this team, it would change the bench. Hey I might be for that addition and a nice dual timelines next year. But our core is still 75% young.

I think a deal can be had for OG with Ant and future picks. He’d be a major upgrade at starting 3. Keep Winslow, resign Grant and Thybulle, and add a quality backup 5 and the team is pretty well stocked with vets.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Just watched all of Cronin comments at the press conference. He talked about Scoot getting 12mpg behind Dame while cringing, with Ant full time at SG.

I think he'll work to trade Dame or Ant.

 

[PCmor7]

I'm not ready to give up on Dame. The Blazers and fans shouldn't be either. He had his best season last year. It's terrible people here are treating him like a fucking nobody.

I don't think people are treating him like a nobody. I think some people just either are tired of the national soap opera that's playing out or they're just putting the team ahead of the player. I don't think that's a slight to Dame. Other people might feel differently, but I became a Blazer fan before Damian Lillard was born.

Of course, I don't subscribe to the "pick a track" or any absolutes on this.

As an aside, I think it's kind of ironic that Dame had his best season last year and people continue to follow this narrative that the end of his career is imminent. There's no reason in my mind to think he might not have four very high-quality years in him and several others where he's still playable on a good team. What's Chris Paul? 38? He was the piece that put the Suns in the finals two years ago, won 64 games with them last year and had them 16-7 early in December this season, and Dame, I think, is a better physical specimen than him. We've been playing "the windows closing" card for at least four years. It motivated us to make bad trades for players like Covington and Nance.

 

[Hoopguru]

Just watched all of Cronin comments at the press conference. He talked about Scoot getting 12mpg behind Dame while cringing, with Ant full time at SG.

I think he'll work to trade Dame or Ant.

Will be traded imo.

 

[Hoopguru]

Imagine all the trade possibilities that are now coming in. Many more than the last few weeks, I bet. And better offers too.

 

[Hoopguru]

Many offers before the draft were probably contingent on who we got. And Joe mentioned some were trade possibilities without #3.

 

[tykendo]

Just watched all of Cronin comments at the press conference. He talked about Scoot getting 12mpg behind Dame while cringing, with Ant full time at SG.

I think he'll work to trade Dame or Ant.

Trading Dame, if he wants to stay, would be stupid. He's a top 10 player, with no team able to give equal value back. Not even close. Now Ant is a shooter. And a very good one at that. There should be a market for his expertise. But Ant is not a PG. Not just me saying that. Heard it from Francis Williams last night. I believe Joe will be able to trade Ant for a position of need. It's coming. Unless Dame demands out, it's time to drop the damn idea.

 

[glazeduck]

I'm curious, please identify who is treating Dame like a nobody?

Came here to ask the same thing.

Pointing out that Dame has had less success in the playoffs than Walton or Drexler, or suggesting that some amount of imperfection might be an occupational hazard of getting a 9-fig salary, or suggesting that he's nearing his physical decline, are all a far cry from treating him like a nobody.

 

[Gronk_Brady]

Trading Dame, if he wants to stay, would be stupid. He's a top 10 player, with no team able to give equal value back. Not even close. Now Ant is a shooter. And a very good one at that. There should be a market for his expertise. But Ant is not a PG. Not just me saying that. Heard it from Francis Williams last night. I believe Joe will be able to trade Ant for a position of need. It's coming. Unless Dame demands out, it's time to drop the damn idea.

They will never trade Dame if he wants to stay, and I think 100% of fans want him here if he wants to stay. We are only having this debate due to his public comments.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Just watched all of Cronin comments at the press conference. He talked about Scoot getting 12mpg behind Dame while cringing, with Ant full time at SG.

I think he'll work to trade Dame or Ant.

Yeah, Joe alluded to the point that Sharpe can play some minutes at SF but it sounded to me that at this point in his career, (weight-wise) Joe wants Shaedon at SG. Maybe if he puts on 15 lbs of muscle in a few years things could change. So I am guessing he sees Ant as the odd man out unless someone steps up their offer for Scoot. Whether fans agree or not, Joes doe not want to trade Dame.

 

[Natebishop3]

I don't think people are treating him like a nobody. I think some people just either are tired of the national soap opera that's playing out or they're just putting the team ahead of the player. I don't think that's a slight to Dame. Other people might feel differently, but I became a Blazer fan before Damian Lillard was born.

Of course, I don't subscribe to the "pick a track" or any absolutes on this.

As an aside, I think it's kind of ironic that Dame had his best season last year and people continue to follow this narrative that the end of his career is imminent. There's no reason in my mind to think he might not have four very high-quality years in him and several others where he's still playable on a good team. What's Chris Paul? 38? He was the piece that put the Suns in the finals two years ago, won 64 games with them last year and had them 16-7 early in December this season, and Dame, I think, is a better physical specimen than him. We've been playing "the windows closing" card for at least four years. It motivated us to make bad trades for players like Covington and Nance.

I don't think the end of his career is imminent. I think his time is finite. We don't know what that number is, but there is a number.

 

[Ha Seung-Boumtje-Boumjte]

Ant and Demar have around the same TS%. Demar is a better playmaker, but he's also older, and not really better on defense, so I don't see the point either.

1) Roster balance at 3
2) Appease Dame
3) Try to free up our pick

What better vets from Scoot and Sharpe to learn from than the second best mid-range player in the NBA and the best deep 3 shooter in the NBA, who are both incredibly skilled in the pick n roll?

 

[Ha Seung-Boumtje-Boumjte]

6’9” wingspan. Same as Simons

Way stronger though. Even if he and Dame were both on the floor neither is a big risk of being posted up or bullied down low.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Attack the post, not the poster.

Your post is fucking stupid.

Your post is butthurt.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Remember you gave up on him when he goes to another team and immediately wins the trophy.

Who's "giving up" on Dame?

Jeez, did people do this about Dirk Nowitzki on Dallas?

 

[Strenuus]

I think what yesterday represented was the beginning of the realization we need to think about post-dame era.

It's a weird place, and we may be here for years. But I'm glad we started it while he was still in his prime and the trade market for the pick was barren.

 

[Natebishop3]

I think what yesterday represented was the beginning of the realization we need to think about post-dame era.

It's a weird place, and we may be here for years. But I'm glad we started it while he was still in his prime and the trade market for the pick was barren.

Yeah, I think a lot of people are mourning the apparent end of Dame's time in Portland.