Exclusive Joe Cronin presser

[inconceivable]

Totally agree with you. There's a lot of fault to be had with Cronin. And a lot of work. The thing I'm happy with is he at least set up a future. The optics and how he did it is something to be desired.

Jumping to 3 changed everything. If Mikal was available, he'd be a blazer. No other offers were better than picking the BPA. Cronin did not make a trade just for the sake of making a trade unless the trade makes us better than the alternative (picking Scoot)

 

[Natebishop3]

Kris is fine, but I wanted Leonard Miller. I'm allowed to like who I like as prospects and I'm not going to pretend to feel differently than I feel. I've had my hits and misses so I'm not dwelling on it, but I wanted Miller.

We'll see Riverman. I hope you're right, but I'm operating off my belief that Dame is as good as gone and that's not based off nothing. That's upsetting to me. Dame said he didn't want more 19 year olds and that the youth route isn't the route for him. Both he and Cronin talked about getting more size and less youth. Then Cronin drafts a 19-year old point guard. If Cronin told him he'd trade the pick to get him to sit the rest of the year, and then went back on his word to draft someone at Dame's position while acting like they wanted to build around Dame more than anything, wouldn't that upset you?

I get why people are upset. I get why some people wanted to continue to build around Dame. I get it. Hell, I wouldn't even be upset if that's the route that we went. It just depended on HOW we did it. Mostly I just wanted us to pick a lane, and we didn't do that... yet. I think that's where you and I tend to agree.

With that said, I understand why Dame would be upset. He specifically said what he didn't want, and that's exactly what we did. I wouldn't blame Lillard for being pissed at all. However, there's the reality of the situation, and I would be pissed at Cronin if he dumped the 3rd pick for bad value. I don't think we anticipated getting the third pick. I don't think we ever thought we'd have a shot at Scoot. So again, I understand why Dame would be upset, but this is business dude. You can't take a massive L on value just because you promised Dame. That's not how this works. Woj even said it. That would be malpractice.

There's an episode of Bluey that deals with promises. Bluey's dad promises to take her and her sister to the library, but they took too long at the playground and the library was closed by the time they left. Bluey is upset because her dad promised, and Bandit tells her that the library is closed and there's nothing he can do. I think anyone who is upset at Joe right now should watch that episode (if you haven't seen Bluey you should, it's a great show.) Sometimes you can't deliver on promises. Joe tried to trade the pick, but he wasn't getting fair offers. He couldn't trade Scoot for .50 on the dollar. That would have been a horrible trade for this team.

 

[Natebishop3]

If people aren't upset, fine. It's just strange to me why people that aren't upset don't seem to understand why people are upset.

The thing that makes the most sense for me is that the ownership group and front office wants to trade Dame but doesn't want the backlash that'd come if they did it outright, so they're trying to force Dame's hand while saying they'll trade him wherever he wants to go so that they don't seem like the bad guys and they abide by Dame with the hope that he wouldn't speak badly about them upon leaving. I understand why other people would have different interpretations of this situation because it definitely is weird, but Cronin criticism isn't unjustified because all we've heard is that this summer we have to execute and be aggressive to put a good team around Dame and the "execution" so far has been to replace him.

I think this is probably right. I think they want to rebuild and they want Dame to be the one to initiate it.

I bet it really sucks for Dame. He just built a huge house. His family is here. He loves Portland. He doesn't want to leave. We're forcing his hand. But the reality is that it's really in everyone's best interest to part ways. We can't afford a superstar 33 year old point guard anymore, and Dame deserves to be playing on a team that has a chance at a ring. We need to start our rebuild and Dame needs to get the most out of his last 3-5 years in the league.

But nobody wants to be the bad guy here. It's tough.

 

[BonesJones]

I get why people are upset. I get why some people wanted to continue to build around Dame. I get it. Hell, I wouldn't even be upset if that's the route that we went. It just depended on HOW we did it. Mostly I just wanted us to pick a lane, and we didn't do that... yet. I think that's where you and I tend to agree.

With that said, I understand why Dame would be upset. He specifically said what he didn't want, and that's exactly what we did. I wouldn't blame Lillard for being pissed at all. However, there's the reality of the situation, and I would be pissed at Cronin if he dumped the 3rd pick for bad value. I don't think we anticipated getting the third pick. I don't think we ever thought we'd have a shot at Scoot. So again, I understand why Dame would be upset, but this is business dude. You can't take a massive L on value just because you promised Dame. That's not how this works. Woj even said it. That would be malpractice.

There's an episode of Bluey that deals with promises. Bluey's dad promises to take her and her sister to the library, but they took too long at the playground and the library was closed by the time they left. Bluey is upset because her dad promised, and Bandit tells her that the library is closed and there's nothing he can do. I think anyone who is upset at Joe right now should watch that episode (if you haven't seen Bluey you should, it's a great show.) Sometimes you can't deliver on promises. Joe tried to trade the pick, but he wasn't getting fair offers. He couldn't trade Scoot for .50 on the dollar. That would have been a horrible trade for this team.

I think Joe just should've chose his messaging more closely, especially IF he told Dame they'd trade the lottery pick if it wasn't Wemby so that he'd sit the rest of the year. He doubled back and contradicted himself in his comments on size for the 2nd time during his tenure. The frustration is about more than not being able to pull off a trade. But the lack of execution of a plan and stated goals is frustrating too because we've dealt with that for far too long.

 

[BonesJones]

I think this is probably right. I think they want to rebuild and they want Dame to be the one to initiate it.

I bet it really sucks for Dame. He just built a huge house. His family is here. He loves Portland. He doesn't want to leave. We're forcing his hand. But the reality is that it's really in everyone's best interest to part ways. We can't afford a superstar 33 year old point guard anymore, and Dame deserves to be playing on a team that has a chance at a ring. We need to start our rebuild and Dame needs to get the most out of his last 3-5 years in the league.

But nobody wants to be the bad guy here. It's tough.

And IF this is true, it's disgraceful.

 

[inconceivable]

I think this is probably right. I think they want to rebuild and they want Dame to be the one to initiate it.

I bet it really sucks for Dame. He just built a huge house. His family is here. He loves Portland. He doesn't want to leave. We're forcing his hand. But the reality is that it's really in everyone's best interest to part ways. We can't afford a superstar 33 year old point guard anymore, and Dame deserves to be playing on a team that has a chance at a ring. We need to start our rebuild and Dame needs to get the most out of his last 3-5 years in the league.

But nobody wants to be the bad guy here. It's tough.

I still struggle to find a team to trade Dame to that gives us at least equal value and still remain a contender.

Top 10 Odds to be win nxt yr as of today:

Celtics
Nugs
Bux
Suns
Warriors
Lakers
Heat
76
Clips
Griz

Can any of these teams trade for Dame, give us equitable return, remain a contender?

 

[Chris Craig]

Really happy with the draft. To me it was a no brainer draft and an A...I'd bet Dame feels the same. It's the free agency and trade market now that is interessting...Joe said he's planted some seeds moving forward now that the draft is over. He knows he needs to get at least two vets Dame really likes and probably a backup center. I grew up an Iowa Hawkeyes fan and wanted Keegan last draft but really happy with Kris this draft

Let's see if he can pull off a trade to net us a veteran/veterans. Trying to get a good player back and good value is different then giving players away. He created a weak perception of himself by doing that in the eyes of other GM's. Based on the actual offers we heard he got, he isn't being taken seriously. He did favors for LAC and NO thinking it would buy his way towards respect among other GM's. The same GM's just tried to walk on him again.

I like Joe. He seems like a good dude. He's good at cap math, but is he a good GM? The jury is still out on that. Early results aren't exactly in his favor. Yes, it was an excellent draft if you are completely rebuilding. Schmitz had his fingerprints all over that.

 

[Natebishop3]

I still struggle to find a team to trade Dame to that gives us at least equal value and still remain a contender.

Top 10 Odds to be win nxt yr as of today:

Celtics
Nugs
Bux
Suns
Warriors
Lakers
Heat
76
Clips
Griz

Can any of these teams trade for Dame, give us equitable return, remain a contender?

I can't remember who said it, I think it was Haynes, but supposedly they don't want to deal him to a western conference team.

 

[blazerkor]

I still struggle to find a team to trade Dame to that gives us at least equal value and still remain a contender.

Top 10 Odds to be win nxt yr as of today:

Celtics
Nugs
Bux
Suns
Warriors
Lakers
Heat
76
Clips
Griz

Can any of these teams trade for Dame, give us equitable return, remain a contender?

I don't know if you've read me post this but we could send Dame and Nurk to the Nets for Dinwiddie, Harris, Claxton, the rights to the two guys they just drafted and up to 7 future first round picks.

This would leave the team with Dame, Bridges, Cam Johnson (RFA), DFS, Nurk, Simmons, Patty, the bird rights to Seth and the TPMLE. If Simmons can even turn things half way around that's the best roster Dame will have ever had around him.

 

[Cugel]

Nobody was available. Paul George for #3 and Sharpe and or Ant?? Who was available ?

 

[Chris Craig]

I can't remember who said it, I think it was Haynes, but supposedly they don't want to deal him to a western conference team.

I wouldn't either.

 

[Chris Craig]

Nobody was available. Paul George for #3 and Sharpe and or Ant?? Who was available ?

That was LAC trying to fleece us again. Screw them.

 

[Natebishop3]

I don't know if you've read me post this but we could send Dame and Nurk to the Nets for Dinwiddie, Harris, Claxton, the rights to the two guys they just drafted and up to 7 future first round picks.

This would leave the team with Dame, Bridges, Cam Johnson (RFA), DFS, Nurk, Simmons, Patty, the bird rights to Seth and the TPMLE. If Simmons can even turn things half way around that's the best roster Dame will have ever had around him.

I don't think they'd give us 7 picks. No way. Realistically they need some of that capital to try to bring in more help. Dame/Bridges/Simmons ain't enough.

 

[Tince]

STOMP and I don't usually see eye to eye..... but I'm with him on this one.

This should've been your first clue you're way off this time!

 

[Chris Craig]

I don't know if you've read me post this but we could send Dame and Nurk to the Nets for Dinwiddie, Harris, Claxton, the rights to the two guys they just drafted and up to 7 future first round picks.

This would leave the team with Dame, Bridges, Cam Johnson (RFA), DFS, Nurk, Simmons, Patty, the bird rights to Seth and the TPMLE. If Simmons can even turn things half way around that's the best roster Dame will have ever had around him.

That would be ironic. Trading him back to the same team who traded us the pick that got him so they can win a championship and we can pound sand.

Better deal than Miami's.

 

[blazerkor]

I don't think they'd give us 7 picks. No way. Realistically they need some of that capital to try to bring in more help. Dame/Bridges/Simmons ain't enough.

Yeah I just said they have up to that many. I would think that since they would already be giving us two firsts from this year they'd probably only want to give up three or four future firsts.

 

[riverman]

Kris is fine, but I wanted Leonard Miller. I'm allowed to like who I like as prospects and I'm not going to pretend to feel differently than I feel. I've had my hits and misses so I'm not dwelling on it, but I wanted Miller.

We'll see Riverman. I hope you're right, but I'm operating off my belief that Dame is as good as gone and that's not based off nothing. That's upsetting to me. Dame said he didn't want more 19 year olds and that the youth route isn't the route for him. Both he and Cronin talked about getting more size and less youth. Then Cronin drafts a 19-year old point guard. If Cronin told him he'd trade the pick to get him to sit the rest of the year, and then went back on his word to draft someone at Dame's position while acting like they wanted to build around Dame more than anything, wouldn't that upset you?

I've no problem with your wish list Torey...I just don't agree with the Cronin-Lillard narrative and that's fine. When Dame said he didn't want to play with kids we didn't have the number 3 pick and Scoot Henderson is really far from any 19 year old point guards we've seen in a long time...he's been playing with men and handling running an offense for two years..Kris is Ant's age...not a kid. I believe Joe, Chauncey and Dame are all on the same page and I don't think teams wanted to trade stars to Portland because they didn't want Dame happy..they all want Dame. I'm holding out until preseason to see our roster and I'll give Chauncey half a season to show he can coach this kind of talent. I too hope it all works out well. I believe they do want to build around Dame and it just started with a couple of young studs in the draft.

 

[Tince]

Kris is fine, but I wanted Leonard Miller. I'm allowed to like who I like as prospects and I'm not going to pretend to feel differently than I feel. I've had my hits and misses so I'm not dwelling on it, but I wanted Miller.

We'll see Riverman. I hope you're right, but I'm operating off my belief that Dame is as good as gone and that's not based off nothing. That's upsetting to me. Dame said he didn't want more 19 year olds and that the youth route isn't the route for him. Both he and Cronin talked about getting more size and less youth. Then Cronin drafts a 19-year old point guard. If Cronin told him he'd trade the pick to get him to sit the rest of the year, and then went back on his word to draft someone at Dame's position while acting like they wanted to build around Dame more than anything, wouldn't that upset you?

We're on the same page about the larger issue, but I'm not following the question about a hypothetical conversation. Was this reported or more of a connect-the-dots assumption you're making?

 

[Natebishop3]

Yeah I just said they have up to that many. I would think that since they would already be giving us two firsts from this year they'd probably only want to give up three or four future firsts.

Did they even take anyone we would want? I’d like the cap relief and the future picks so we can let Schmitz cook.

 

[blazerkor]

I've no problem with your wish list Torey...I just don't agree with the Cronin-Lillard narrative and that's fine. When Dame said he didn't want to play with kids we didn't have the number 3 pick and Scoot Henderson is really far from any 19 year old point guards we've seen in a long time...he's been playing with men and handling running an offense for two years..Kris is Ant's age...not a kid. I believe Joe, Chauncey and Dame are all on the same page and I don't think teams wanted to trade stars to Portland because they didn't want Dame happy..they all want Dame. I'm holding out until preseason to see our roster and I'll give Chauncey half a season to show he can coach this kind of talent. I too hope it all works out well. I believe they do want to build around Dame and it just started with a couple of young studs in the draft.

You think we drafted a young stud PG in the draft and Dame is going to be cool with that? You think Joe thought that Dame would be cool with that? I guess we'll see but the fact that Dame has had time to be on IG live twice playing around for ten minutes but hasn't had time to check in with Joe for ten minutes and has his agent in constant contact with them makes me think he won't be around for the preseason or until the trade deadline. Dame is going to want to get started with his new season from training camp if in fact he wants to move on.

 

[blazerkor]

Did they even take anyone we would want? I’d like the cap relief and the future picks so we can let Schmitz cook.

I like both of their picks Noah Clowney who is an athletic, super long 6'10" forward and Dariq Whitehead a sharp shooting 6'7" wing.

 

[wizenheimer]

I don't think they'd give us 7 picks. No way. Realistically they need some of that capital to try to bring in more help. Dame/Bridges/Simmons ain't enough.

they wouldn't. The most the Blazers could pry away is probably in the range of 3 first's and maybe a swap, although I don't think swaps have much value. Maybe at the outside 4 first's although I'm sure Brooklyn will want to put protections on some of the picks, especially the ones 6 and 7 years out

we just saw a draft process where Blazer fans had fantasies of Portland landing some huge score for #3 and Ant. And it turns out the value placed on Portland assets by other teams was miles away from the value we assigned those assets

so now, it seems, people are back at it, imagining all kinds of godfather "hauls" for Dame while also imagining there will be a dozen teams falling over themselves to trade for him. There might be 3 or 4 teams, 5 at most. I mean, Boston just shot their way on Porzingis so they are almost certainly out of the Dame market. Philly has nothing. Miami's offer would be crap. It's kind of narrowing down

 

[riverman]

You think we drafted a young stud PG in the draft and Dame is going to be cool with that? You think Joe thought that Dame would be cool with that? I guess we'll see but the fact that Dame has had time to be on IG live twice playing around for ten minutes but hasn't had time to check in with Joe for ten minutes and has his agent in constant contact with them makes me think he won't be around for the preseason or until the trade deadline. Dame is going to want to get started with his new season from training camp if in fact he wants to move on.

yes I do...I think we got a sparkplug 6 man of the year with Scoot next season and he'll finish a lot of games with Dame and take the pounding in the paint thapare himt'll extend Dame's career moving forward...Dame will be able to be a sniper and Scoot can take the beating when he's in the trees. In the end, winning solves all these problems. Dame is on vacation in France with his family...his agent is paid to handle the phone this time of year and he just had a long talk with Joe Tuesday....life isn't about the sports media all the time.

 

[Cugel]

I will repeat myself:
Dame saying “ do this or else” hurt the chances for a deal. Not too smart imho. Say nothing ever. Keep your friends close and enemies closer.

 

[BonesJones]

I've no problem with your wish list Torey...I just don't agree with the Cronin-Lillard narrative and that's fine. When Dame said he didn't want to play with kids we didn't have the number 3 pick and Scoot Henderson is really far from any 19 year old point guards we've seen in a long time...he's been playing with men and handling running an offense for two years..Kris is Ant's age...not a kid. I believe Joe, Chauncey and Dame are all on the same page and I don't think teams wanted to trade stars to Portland because they didn't want Dame happy..they all want Dame. I'm holding out until preseason to see our roster and I'll give Chauncey half a season to show he can coach this kind of talent. I too hope it all works out well. I believe they do want to build around Dame and it just started with a couple of young studs in the draft.

I hope you're right. I hope we didn't do wrong by Dame. If he stays, I will happily make a video admitting I was wrong. Just seems off.

 

[Whyachi]

Lillard deserves to go to the best team possible, after trusting a franchise that somehow brainstormed the idea that Drew Eubanks could be a starting Center in the NBA.

 

[Cugel]

I hope you're right. I hope we didn't do wrong by Dame. If he stays, I will happily make a video admitting I was wrong. Just seems off.

Probably we won’t ever know all the facts but sheesh Dame and Wemby are dominating the nba media. Jokic who??

 

[blazerkor]

So Dame gets on IG live two times after the draft and says nothing... but hasn't reached out to Cronin one time. Come on! Tell me that's not sending a message?

 

[Cugel]

One last comment: it’s time for Chauncey to be under the gun for once. What can he do to make this a middle seed team if Dame stays. Shit we know will give like 30-5-5 not to mention the clutch moments. Lets see what Billups can bring to the table and earn his keep.

 

[inconceivable]

I don't know if you've read me post this but we could send Dame and Nurk to the Nets for Dinwiddie, Harris, Claxton, the rights to the two guys they just drafted and up to 7 future first round picks.

This would leave the team with Dame, Bridges, Cam Johnson (RFA), DFS, Nurk, Simmons, Patty, the bird rights to Seth and the TPMLE. If Simmons can even turn things half way around that's the best roster Dame will have ever had around him.

Dame's perspective:
Short term, that's good. Long term, he's better off staying here.

Go in there nxt year with roster you mentioned and not as bright future