Meeting between Dame and Cronin today

Once again, let's ignore the fact that I do not know (and I assume you do not as well) that they did not interview him internally.

There certainly are cases where an interview is not required. I worked as a lead developer for 3 years at a startup, if these people had to interview me at the end of this time to promote me to chief software architect when the opportunity arose I can assure you they would have to interview someone else because I would have been out of there. I am not saying this is the case with Cronin, but it is absurd to think that you always have to interview someone, especially if there is a complicated system in place that promoting from within can speed transition - which is certainly what happened with Cronin.

In theory, what they did is had a candidate in house that was familiar with a lot of the complicated cap situation, scout information, personnel and goals etc... and they promoted him from within to an interim position. He quickly has shown that he has a different plan than the previous administration (tearing down the roster, setting a course correction) and at this point, he proved to be able and was prompted permanently. Seems super reasonable.

I am not going to touch the minority / female or whatever else candidates. I am sure it would make sense to ask these questions if they did not have a candidate within they were willing to try. They had - which is a very reasonable thing to do given how well they know him - and they did not just make the change permanent immediately - they gave him the interim position, evaluated what he did and decided that the decision to promote him was right to make it permanent. (From the little I did pay attention to, it seems that Cronin's promotion actually accelerated the minority positions situation within the organization)

Either way, it really has become a question about the Blazers management style, it has nothing to do with Cronin - which seems like a capable guy that actually has a coherent plan.

 

Newsflash, most players didn't like Quick when he was working for the Oregonian, to the point where players wouldn't give him a interview or answer his questions...

He is a sour bitter guy at this point.

 

I agree on the first part. Not sure how you concluded on the second part.

To use another writer as an example: Dwight Jaynes isn't rooting for Dame or for Cronin, but his takes are far from objective. Based off Quicks radio interviews, I wouldn't be surprised if he was not a fan of Dame; which is different from being objective and unbiased.

 

You don't like him so he must be .... A girl! What worse insult?

 

I have even more planned next year! Finally have some sponsors lined up. I won't have to Doordash anymore! Super excited for it.

 

...what?

 

I think we just disagree on interviews and that's totally fine. I'm not sure if I agree on him being capable or that he has a coherent plan. The list of transactions really seems to tell a different story. I have enlarged the ones that I think are key.

• December 26, 2021: Signed Jarron Cumberland to a 10-day contract.
  
  December 26, 2021: Signed Brandon Williams to a 10-day contract.
  
  December 26, 2021: Signed Cameron McGriff to a 10-day contract.

• December 28, 2021: Signed Reggie Perry to a 10-day contract.

• February 4, 2022: Traded Robert Covington and Norman Powell to the Los Angeles Clippers for Eric Bledsoe, Keon Johnson, Justise Winslow and a 2025 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected). Portland also received a trade exception 2025 2nd-rd pick is DET own

• February 8, 2022: Traded CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell to the New Orleans Pelicans for Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Josh Hart, Didi Louzada, Tomas Satoransky, a 2022 1st round draft pick ( was later selected), a 2026 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) and a 2027 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected). New Orleans also received a trade exception Portland also received a trade exception 2022 1st-rd pick did not convey, becomes future 1st-rd pick 2026 2nd-rd pick is more favorable of two teams 2027 2nd-rd pick is NOP own

• February 9, 2022: As part of a 3-team trade, the Portland Trail Blazers traded Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Utah Jazz; the Portland Trail Blazers traded Tomas Satoransky to the San Antonio Spurs; the San Antonio Spurs traded Juan Hernangomez to the Utah Jazz; the Utah Jazz traded Elijah Hughes, Joe Ingles and a 2022 2nd round draft pick (Jabari Walker was later selected) to the Portland Trail Blazers; and the Utah Jazz traded a 2027 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) to the San Antonio Spurs. Utah also received trade exceptions 2027 2nd-rd pick is least favorable least favorable from HOU, IND, MIA or OKC Portland also received a trade exception 2022 2nd-rd pick is MEM own

• February 22, 2022: Signed Drew Eubanks to a 10-day contract.
  
  February 22, 2022: Signed Brandon Williams to a two-way contract.

• March 14, 2022: Signed Drew Eubanks to a 10-day contract.
  
  March 14, 2022: Signed Kris Dunn to a 10-day contract.

• March 24, 2022: Signed Drew Eubanks to a 10-day contract.

• March 30, 2022: Signed Reggie Perry to a 10-day contract.

• April 3, 2022: Signed Drew Eubanks to a 10-day contract, then signed to a contract for the rest of the season.
  
  April 3, 2022: Signed Kris Dunn to two 10-day contracts, then signed to a contract for the rest of the season.

• June 23, 2022: Selected Shaedon Sharpe (1st round, 7th pick), Gabriele Procida (2nd round, 36th pick) and Jabari Walker (2nd round, 59th pick) in the 2022 NBA Draft.

• July 1, 2022: Signed Shaedon Sharpe to a multi-year contract.

• July 6, 2022: Traded Gabriele Procida, a 2025 1st round draft pick ( was later selected), a 2025 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) and a 2026 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) to the Detroit Pistons for Jerami Grant and Ismael Kamagate. Detroit also received a trade exception conditional 2025 1st-rd pick is MIL own 2025 2nd-rd pick is DET own 2026 2nd-rd pick is more favorable
  
  July 6, 2022: Traded Ismael Kamagate to the Denver Nuggets for a 2024 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected). 2023 2nd-rd pick is more favorable
  
  July 6, 2022: Signed Jusuf Nurkić to a multi-year contract.
  
  July 6, 2022: Signed Gary Payton II to a multi-year contract.
  
  July 6, 2022: Signed Anfernee Simons to a multi-year contract.

• July 7, 2022: Signed Drew Eubanks.

• July 13, 2022: Signed Jabari Walker to a multi-year contract.

• August 2, 2022: Signed Jared Rhoden.

• August 3, 2022: Signed Isaiah Miller.
  
  August 3, 2022: Signed Norvel Pelle.

• September 7, 2022: Signed Olivier Sarr.
  
  September 7, 2022: Signed Devontae Cacok.

• September 23, 2022: Signed Wesley Iwundu.

• October 20, 2022: Signed John Butler to a two-way contract.

• November 18, 2022: Signed Ibou Badji to a two-way contract.

• February 9, 2023: As part of a 4-team trade, the Portland Trail Blazers traded a 2029 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) to the Philadelphia 76ers; the Portland Trail Blazers traded Dani Diez, Bojan Dubljevic and Josh Hart to the New York Knicks; the Portland Trail Blazers traded a 2027 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) to the Charlotte Hornets; the Charlotte Hornets traded Jalen McDaniels and a 2024 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) to the Philadelphia 76ers; the New York Knicks traded Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk to the Charlotte Hornets; the New York Knicks traded Ryan Arcidiacono, Cam Reddish, Ante Tomic and a 2023 1st round draft pick (Kris Murray was later selected) to the Portland Trail Blazers; the Philadelphia 76ers traded a 2023 2nd round draft pick (Colby Jones was later selected) to the Charlotte Hornets; and the Philadelphia 76ers traded Matisse Thybulle to the Portland Trail Blazers. Charlotte also received a trade exception More favorable 2023 2nd-rd pick ended up as CHO own 2027 2nd-rd pick is more favorable Philadelphia also received a trade exception 2024 2nd-rd pick is NYK own 2029 2nd-rd pick is POR own Portland also received a trade exception 2023 protected 1st-rd pick is NYK own
  
  February 9, 2023: As part of a 4-team trade, the Portland Trail Blazers traded Gary Payton II to the Golden State Warriors; the Atlanta Hawks traded a 2026 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) and a 2028 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) to the Golden State Warriors; the Atlanta Hawks traded a 2023 2nd round draft pick (Rayan Rupert was later selected), a 2024 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) and a 2025 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) to the Portland Trail Blazers; the Detroit Pistons traded Saddiq Bey to the Atlanta Hawks; the Detroit Pistons traded Kevin Knox to the Portland Trail Blazers; the Golden State Warriors traded James Wiseman to the Detroit Pistons; and the Golden State Warriors traded a 2026 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) and a 2028 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) to the Portland Trail Blazers. Golden State also received a trade exception 2026 2nd-rd pick is ATL own 2028 2nd-rd pick is ATL own Portland also received a trade exception more favorable 2023 2nd-rd pick ended up as ATL own conditional 2024 2nd-rd pick is ATL own conditional 2025 2nd-rd pick is ATL own conditional 2026 2nd-rd pick is MEM own 2028 2nd-rd pick is GSW own

• March 30, 2023: Signed Shaquille Harrison to a 10-day contract.
  
  March 30, 2023: Signed Skylar Mays to a 10-day contract.

• April 1, 2023: Signed Jeenathan Williams.

• April 4, 2023: Signed Justin Minaya to a 10-day contract.

• April 9, 2023: Signed Chance Comanche.
  
  April 9, 2023: Signed Skylar Mays.

• 
  
  So we have some trades, some free agents, and some draft picks.

Trades:
Roco/Norm for a bunch of garbage.
CJ/Nance ---- > TPE/pick for Grant
Hart for pick/Reddish/Thybulle
GPII for Knox and 5 second rounders

Free agents
GPII

Draft picks
Sharpe
Walker
Scoot
Murray
Rupert

The good:

• I like our picks. I actually like all our picks. I think he has done very well in the draft. That's probably my favorite part about what he brings to the table.
• I like that he's willing to admit a mistake and quickly remedy it. He screwed up when he signed GPII and he got out of it pretty quick. I think that's a refreshing change of pace from what we had with our last GM.

The bad:

• The trades have not been great. The LAC trade was awful. I think it was his worst moment. The CJ trade was essentially so we could go get Grant. I have quibbled with Tince over this, but I will reserve judgement on this trade until after we see if Grant re-signs. The Hart trade was okay... but we gave up a core rotation guy for a dude that probably won't be on our team next year (Reddish) and a guy who is really good at defense, but little else (Thybulle.) This trade might be salvaged if Murray ends up being good. GPII trade was kinda meh... we got out of a bad move but it's hard to say how much GPII handcuffed us while he was here. He hard capped us and who knows who else we might have signed if we didn't go after Payton.
• Free agents - GPII was bad. Terrible. It was a horrible fit from the beginning. Nobody liked that signing. I really don't know what he was trying to accomplish with that.

So what would you say is his coherent plan? He's drafting young kids. He's converting our veterans on bloated contracts into young talent (Reddish/Thybulle/Knox/etc). The only win-now moves he has made are GPII and Grant. Payton is already gone and Grant is a free agent. He did bring back Simons and Nurk on big contracts. I just don't see what the plan is. He keeps saying it's to build around Dame, but then he uses all our picks and he seems to refuse to add size to our team. The only coherent plan has been to cut cost and he has succeeded at that. I guess he has also managed to keep Dame around, despite the past two years of drama. I get that he's trying to clean up Olshey's mess, but he's straddling two timelines. I really don't see a plan right now.

 

I think I've made myself clear.

 

You mean, like, we can see through you now?

 

I don't know why you guys are engaging with an obvious troll account

 

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Also, your mother could be described as a troll.

 

The first one was mildly humorous. Now it's just trying too hard.

 

and too often

 

Oh, come on. I talked to you on here for almost a whole day once ....

 

The plan was pretty clear to me.

Step 1, remove the imbalance - financially. Let's start with the financial item - this means, no longer have multiple big contracts for small guards. The Blazers basically went from 3 big contracts for Dame, CJ and a somewhat big contract for Norm to currently 2 big contracts (Dame, Ant) with Ant being much younger than CJ and Norm's places basically replaced with Shae which is bigger, cheaper. Now, Scoot was a must draft at the position and situation was, this means that there is still a balance issue, but you can't really blame Cronin for having to select him - it is still a good thing to do because he now is having to choose between basically Ant and Dame is a reasonable option for the fork in the road Portland has to choose from (Improve around Dame or tear it down for a youth movement after a Dame trade). Still a work in progress, but already much better.

Step 2, improve the talent on the roster - clearly done via the draft + trades. Talent wise, Dame + Ant in a major role + Shae + Grant + Scoot waiting in the wings is much better than Dame + CJ + Ant waiting in the wings. Still a work in progress, but clearly much better than before.

Step 3, Add size where it matters - Grant is the best Forward Portland had since LMA left, Shae is much bigger in the back-court than what Portland was dealing with for a while. Lots of work to be done, but it's being addressed slowly.

Step 4, Add defense - Tried with GP2, replaced him with MT, Grant much better than RoCo, Draft potential for the future, clearly work in progress, but better than anything Portland had since the WCF year which NeO immediately tore down because, NeO doing NeO things.

Step 5, Provide better roster for the way coach wants to play. Tried with Justice, Hart, unfortunately, Justice had injuries, Hart was not going to stay, he salvaged it for the future. Still work in progress, the elephant in the room is Nurk. He had to be signed so the Blazers do not lose an asset, but he clearly does not fit. Hopefully, the Blazers can upgrade from him this off-season.

Remember, all of this was done in basically 18 months, that's pretty good imho. I don't care about the individual trades that much - I care about the plan - and say what you want about Cronin, he was very transparent about it, he wanted to balance the roster, bring more talent, upgrade the defense. That's exactly what he is doing.

I honestly hate this trade by trade, signing by signing micro-management analysis - this is a non-exact science, not every move is going to succeed (if it was, Portland would not be able to afford Cronin) and some of them were done for very specific reasons (like creating the TPE that was used for Grant). But, if you look at the stated goals, what the constraints were and how he took advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves or pivoted when things went south, I am impressed with his work.

Now, anyone has the right to criticize every single move - but micro-management is worthless if you do not take stock of what the plan was and how it is proceeding. He told you what the plan is, he is clearly proceeding with it. You can point that there are risks if Grant leaves or if Dame leaves or whatever, but that's going to be true no matter what moves happen. The Clippers had an excellent plan of getting the Finals MVP, getting him another all-NBA forward and rolling forward with tons of money on the roster to get them to the promised land, didn't work. The Nets got the 2 time Champ and Finals MVP and got 2 dominant all-NBA guards with him, didn't work. There is no foolproof way to win a championship. There are reasonable plans of actions that either work or not. We got a GM that has a reasonable plan of action, which we have not had since the WCF year. That's as good as we can reasonably hope for, imho.

 

You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I'm an easy target. Yeah, you're right - I talk too much. I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynic like you . . . but I don't like to hurt people's feelings! You can think what you want about me! I'm not changing! I like... I like me! My wife likes me! My customers like me! Because I'm the real article - what you see is what you get!