So far I love his offseason. The Grant trade was solid. I love getting Sharpe at 7. Waiting to see how the rest of this plays out.
Sharpe at 7 was an awesome pick. Grant trade is good. I was never super negative on just the CJ trade if it was in isolation. The big problem is the Clippers trade, it was horrible then and still is real bad now. If we could undo that trade and had Powell on this roster along with Roco bird rights I'd be happy with what Cronin has done. Lets see what happens the next two weeks, free agents, maybe Durant or other stars switch teams. The Blazers still have a lot of work to contend. They have an odd dual timeline with Dame/Grant/Nurk on one path and Simons/Sharpe/Little/Keon on another. Plenty of ways to screw it up. But at least there is promise. If Sharpe is a big hit then the team might have a chance to contend with Dame. Probably not likely that happens, but much better than adding limited upside vets as I was fearful this franchise would continue to do.
The Grant deal was the first Blazer trade in some time that wasn't a dumpster fire. I'll give credit for that...but it is hardly worth getting excited over. What happens with his looming extension is another matter. I'd say there is a high chance he is a rental.
If we still had Powell on this roster, we likely don't make the Grant deal because of the amount of money they'd be bringing in and committing to. And maybe we also pass on Sharpe because we have Ant, Hart and Powell all at the 2. As for the dual timeline, I feel like everyone praises GS for not trading away their young guys, and having successors to take over when Curry and Klay and Green are gone, but if Portland grabs young guys, it's bad because they don't fit Dame's timeline. Obviously we're not GS, but it's ok to have some moves for right now, some for maybe now but liekly a year from now, and some 2-3 years from now.
If the Blazers can contend now as Golden State has then yes dual timelines are great. If the Blazers have no shot at contending as the last few years, then the timeline of Dame Nurk Grant starts to provide little to no benefit. Then you start to wonder if it's better to ship them out and rebuild.
Sharpe doesn't need a role now. If Norm is here it's possible to trade him, Ant, or Hart. Blazers need talent and assets to contend. If you undo the Clippers trade, yes the Blazers aren't a finished product. But they have more assets to build a winner. Regarding the money, that's why Jody Allen sucks.
We’ve traded for and gotten rid of so many players to fill his role that one would expect a legit fit eventually. Could be Grant; time will tell.
So, just a repeat of RoCo and Nance. Maybe not as bad, but the same broken plan. Giving up future assets, even mediocre ones, for non-impact vets is a bad tactic in general and completely flies in the face of drafting someone like Sharpe.