Cronin Press Conference

[Moonbeam]

Link here: https://www.nba.com/blazers/now

[elias808]

Let’s get our bingo cards ready!

[cucad8]

no thanks

[DusterBuster]

"We're laying the groundwork"... BINGO!

He's right, I know that's how it actually works for gig and as a fan its probably unreasonable to get upset when he's being true there... but also it sucks to see nothing happen.

Marang claimed this afternoon between his ranting (bro sounded like he was about to have a heart attack) that he knows for sure the Blazers held talks about a major player and a big deal, but that he was happy they didn't do it... whether thats true or just him trying to flex he knows insider deals or just get frustrations out that so many fans think Cronin is doing nothing just because deals get done (the latter obviously), it's still just always disappointing to see nothing done.

The reality is that I think Cronin just doesn't like to do mid-season deals. He's seems like a guy who really likes to consider the human aspect, so I suspect that unless a player really wants out and he can give them a lot of heads up he's looking for a mid-season deal, otherwise he seems like he just would rather talk about deals mid-season and execute them in the summer. Which... is fine I guess? Makes the deadline boring for us as fans, but probably is the more prudent way to go about things for the most part. It allows you to have a more clearer picture of what you're working with and you don't have to disrupt the team lockerroom as much...

I donno, just thinking what might be going on in his mind.

[Moonbeam]

The definition of being really aggressive being "canvassing the league" is mind-numbing.

Good to hear the 2-timeline thing come up a few times in questions, and Cronin at least acknowledges it.

There were allusions to foundations being laid now for transactions to come at a later date (perhaps the summer).

The most interesting thing was the question about players asking out. Cronin said that nobody had asked out, but some vets have asked about the team's direction and what their outlook looks like on a young rebuilding team. That might explain some of the rotation changes we've seen that have moved Scoot and Sharpe to the bench.

[DusterBuster]

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[DusterBuster]

The definition of being really aggressive being "canvassing the league" is mind-numbing.

Good to hear the 2-timeline thing come up a few times in questions, and Cronin at least acknowledges it.

There were allusions to foundations being laid now for transactions to come at a later date (perhaps the summer).

The most interesting thing was the question about players asking out. Cronin said that nobody had asked out, but some vets have asked about the team's direction and what their outlook looks like on a young rebuilding team. That might explain some of the rotation changes we've seen that have moved Scoot and Sharpe to the bench.

While I'm super frustrated this team hasn't picked a GD path, I can't fault them for really just deciding to roll with where they are now. The lack of picking a path has brought them to this awkward area where the team has improved enough to not be pure dog s---, and if you're preaching development and learning how to win for a young team (as much as we complain about the vets, this teams average age is still only 24.4yrs old), it would send a pretty awful message to the youngest players on the team to pull the ripcord on a team in the midst of the winning streak... It shows that management says one thing but does another. So once they decided to punt on making a decision on direction this summer and instead ran it all back, then you run the risk of improvement leading to wins as it has.

It's just a really awkward spot, had the Blazers been had like 6 less wins and more on the Jazz train of winning, I think it would have been easier to justify dumping some vets for next to nothing. With a team that's winning and playing good basketball and having young players showing development... it's a lot harder to justify blowing that up.

Not worth getting overly upset at anymore, it is what it is. Just let the chips fall where they may.

Keeping fingers crossed Scoot and Shae keep developing like they have been, at least they're getting reps together in the second unit finally... Hopefully this summer the Blazer get a little lottery luck from the basketball gods for not blowing up the team and egregiously tanking this year, and then hopefully they've had enough evidence to feel comfortable on making some real shake-ups this summer to really get Scoot in the starting lineup for good.

[Norm2953]

Makes you wonder what management will think when the team's vets lose interest in the
season after they finish once again in the lottery for how many of these guys were
auditioning for another team?

[Case2012]

I dont really understand the point of these pressers. The guy is f---- liar. He lied to the city over and over and over again about building a team around Dame, about having a deal in place for Jaylen Brown etc. He's completely full of it. The guy is a clown and terrible at his job. "the skies the limit" ok dude. If you're not picking in the top 3 this season, then it was a waste. They could have dealt Rob for Knecht easily... I dont trust Cronin at all, these people are snakes and they exposed themselves as incompetent liars and the local and national media needs to speak up about the fact this team was meant to be sold for charity, not used as passive income for Jody allen to finance her affinity for illegal exotic animal bones or male strippers. He really expects us to be believe he wouldn't have dealt Grant, Thybulle (there's no way he's actually injured btw right?) and Williams for picks and young players if he had the chops to finesse a team out of them.

[Walton1one]

Same thing he said last trade deadline, at the end of last season, at the beginning of this season, at the PR interview midseason, and now, and yet homers, and POR shills in the media would have you believe that, no, he is totally realistic, and that it is the rest of the entire NBA that is unrealistic

Only a fool believes that

[Moonbeam]

The definition of being really aggressive being "canvassing the league" is mind-numbing.

Good to hear the 2-timeline thing come up a few times in questions, and Cronin at least acknowledges it.

There were allusions to foundations being laid now for transactions to come at a later date (perhaps the summer).

The most interesting thing was the question about players asking out. Cronin said that nobody had asked out, but some vets have asked about the team's direction and what their outlook looks like on a young rebuilding team. That might explain some of the rotation changes we've seen that have moved Scoot and Sharpe to the bench.

While I'm super frustrated this team hasn't picked a GD path, I can't fault them for really just deciding to roll with where they are now. The lack of picking a path has brought them to this awkward area where the team has improved enough to not be pure dog s---, and if you're preaching development and learning how to win for a young team (as much as we complain about the vets, this teams average age is still only 24.4yrs old), it would send a pretty awful message to the youngest players on the team to pull the ripcord on a team in the midst of the winning streak... It shows that management says one thing but does another. So once they decided to punt on making a decision on direction this summer and instead ran it all back, then you run the risk of improvement leading to wins as it has.

It's just a really awkward spot, had the Blazers been had like 6 less wins and more on the Jazz train of winning, I think it would have been easier to justify dumping some vets for next to nothing. With a team that's winning and playing good basketball and having young players showing development... it's a lot harder to justify blowing that up.

Not worth getting overly upset at anymore, it is what it is. Just let the chips fall where they may.

Keeping fingers crossed Scoot and Shae keep developing like they have been, at least they're getting reps together in the second unit finally... Hopefully this summer the Blazer get a little lottery luck from the basketball gods for not blowing up the team and egregiously tanking this year, and then hopefully they've had enough evidence to feel comfortable on making some real shake-ups this summer to really get Scoot in the starting lineup for good.

I think he generally answered the questions ok for the most part, but the awkward position is entirely of Cronin's making. The 2-timeline thing is going to remain a question. While the team is winning at the moment, that may be ok. To his credit, Chauncey seems to have kept morale reasonably high and maintained respect in the locker room. Before long, Portland's going to have to make some decisions one way or another, and with a lot of extensions due, there is a risk of losing assets for nothing.

I'll reiterate that this team is filled with likable players - I'm not eager to get rid of any of them in the same way I was Raymond Felton, for instance. But not picking a timeline is something that is starting to emerge as a pattern for Cronin.

[DusterBuster]

The definition of being really aggressive being "canvassing the league" is mind-numbing.

Good to hear the 2-timeline thing come up a few times in questions, and Cronin at least acknowledges it.

There were allusions to foundations being laid now for transactions to come at a later date (perhaps the summer).

The most interesting thing was the question about players asking out. Cronin said that nobody had asked out, but some vets have asked about the team's direction and what their outlook looks like on a young rebuilding team. That might explain some of the rotation changes we've seen that have moved Scoot and Sharpe to the bench.

While I'm super frustrated this team hasn't picked a GD path, I can't fault them for really just deciding to roll with where they are now. The lack of picking a path has brought them to this awkward area where the team has improved enough to not be pure dog s---, and if you're preaching development and learning how to win for a young team (as much as we complain about the vets, this teams average age is still only 24.4yrs old), it would send a pretty awful message to the youngest players on the team to pull the ripcord on a team in the midst of the winning streak... It shows that management says one thing but does another. So once they decided to punt on making a decision on direction this summer and instead ran it all back, then you run the risk of improvement leading to wins as it has.

It's just a really awkward spot, had the Blazers been had like 6 less wins and more on the Jazz train of winning, I think it would have been easier to justify dumping some vets for next to nothing. With a team that's winning and playing good basketball and having young players showing development... it's a lot harder to justify blowing that up.

Not worth getting overly upset at anymore, it is what it is. Just let the chips fall where they may.

Keeping fingers crossed Scoot and Shae keep developing like they have been, at least they're getting reps together in the second unit finally... Hopefully this summer the Blazer get a little lottery luck from the basketball gods for not blowing up the team and egregiously tanking this year, and then hopefully they've had enough evidence to feel comfortable on making some real shake-ups this summer to really get Scoot in the starting lineup for good.

I think he generally answered the questions ok for the most part, but the awkward position is entirely of Cronin's making. The 2-timeline thing is going to remain a question. While the team is winning at the moment, that may be ok. To his credit, Chauncey seems to have kept morale reasonably high and maintained respect in the locker room. Before long, Portland's going to have to make some decisions one way or another, and with a lot of extensions due, there is a risk of losing assets for nothing.

I'll reiterate that this team is filled with likable players - I'm not eager to get rid of any of them in the same way I was Raymond Felton, for instance. But not picking a timeline is something that is starting to emerge as a pattern for Cronin.

Yeah, totally agree. I just wish he would have picked the path, but at this point with a guarantee high pick out the window, I support him just letting this team play the season out and let the guys have fun for a year with some winning.

Cronin, to both his credit and detriment is not a cold-calculated GM like a Danny Ainge. He cares a lot about the human side of the game for the players. Losing is not fun for anyone, sustained losing and then a FO who cares more about losing will stick with players who we hope can grow. So some winning and good player for a guy like Scoot could have a lot of positive impact moving forward... Of course for getting a superstar, it's not helpful at all.

Hopefully this summer there can be some justification for making bigger moves that won't harm the "human" side of the game.

[Moonbeam]

While I'm super frustrated this team hasn't picked a GD path, I can't fault them for really just deciding to roll with where they are now. The lack of picking a path has brought them to this awkward area where the team has improved enough to not be pure dog s---, and if you're preaching development and learning how to win for a young team (as much as we complain about the vets, this teams average age is still only 24.4yrs old), it would send a pretty awful message to the youngest players on the team to pull the ripcord on a team in the midst of the winning streak... It shows that management says one thing but does another. So once they decided to punt on making a decision on direction this summer and instead ran it all back, then you run the risk of improvement leading to wins as it has.

It's just a really awkward spot, had the Blazers been had like 6 less wins and more on the Jazz train of winning, I think it would have been easier to justify dumping some vets for next to nothing. With a team that's winning and playing good basketball and having young players showing development... it's a lot harder to justify blowing that up.

Not worth getting overly upset at anymore, it is what it is. Just let the chips fall where they may.

Keeping fingers crossed Scoot and Shae keep developing like they have been, at least they're getting reps together in the second unit finally... Hopefully this summer the Blazer get a little lottery luck from the basketball gods for not blowing up the team and egregiously tanking this year, and then hopefully they've had enough evidence to feel comfortable on making some real shake-ups this summer to really get Scoot in the starting lineup for good.

I think he generally answered the questions ok for the most part, but the awkward position is entirely of Cronin's making. The 2-timeline thing is going to remain a question. While the team is winning at the moment, that may be ok. To his credit, Chauncey seems to have kept morale reasonably high and maintained respect in the locker room. Before long, Portland's going to have to make some decisions one way or another, and with a lot of extensions due, there is a risk of losing assets for nothing.

I'll reiterate that this team is filled with likable players - I'm not eager to get rid of any of them in the same way I was Raymond Felton, for instance. But not picking a timeline is something that is starting to emerge as a pattern for Cronin.

Yeah, totally agree. I just wish he would have picked the path, but at this point with a guarantee high pick out the window, I support him just letting this team play the season out and let the guys have fun for a year with some winning.

Cronin, to both his credit and detriment is not a cold-calculated GM like a Danny Ainge. He cares a lot about the human side of the game for the players. Losing is not fun for anyone, sustained losing and then a FO who cares more about losing will stick with players who we hope can grow. So some winning and good player for a guy like Scoot could have a lot of positive impact moving forward... Of course for getting a superstar, it's not helpful at all.

Hopefully this summer there can be some justification for making bigger moves that won't harm the "human" side of the game.

Hey, we're humans too!

I agree with the broader point on the human angle. Maybe this is something he has learned from the Lillard fallout as he didn't handle the human element of that well.

[Wizenheimer]

after a decade of Olshey I really wanted to like Cronin, and I did at first. I wasn't one of those people that criticized the moves he made at his first trade deadline when he began unraveling Olshey's nincompoop roster. I welcomed the changes I'd wanted for a long time

and I welcomed when he said the Blazers needed to get longer. The he went out and his very first free agent signing was 6'2 Gary Payton. WTF? He did complete the Grant trade showing he could complete a plan. And then he talked, many times, about building a roster around Dame. And it's pretty clear that he said the same to Dame. Seems obvious that Dame believed by the 2023 off-season Cronin had been lying to him

Cronin re-signed Simons to that contract; he resigned Nurkic to his deal And he gave Grant a ridiculous 5-year/160M deal and traded for 35M/year Ayton. And matched an idiotic offer sheet to Thybulle. All that while he had the Blazers struggling to stay under the tax line while also blatantly tanking for 3 consecutive season. The most blatant tank being last season leading in the worst draft in a decade; then abandoning the tank at least one year early while leading into the best draft in years. There is no friggin logic in that string of events. I

Cronin isn't supremely condescending like Olshey was. But he's taken Olshey's fence straddling and refined it. Doesn't matter if you call it 2-track confusion, or failure to pick a lane drunkenness; or fence straddling mania, or risk-adverse nonsense...it's all the same: a team without a plan that makes any sense. That's on Cronin and that's why he gets asked about it all the time

[HoopsFanAZ]

I remember Lillard + McCollum + some re-treads and marginal starters and reclamation projects were supposed to be in the lottery once LMA was gone and the rest were traded or let go. They screwed up a rebuild by winning too much. They went for “talent acquisition” and overpaid non-stars while missing on FA’s and overvaluing C.J.

Right now, they’re winning too much after so many predictions at 22.5 wins or below. Reading between the lines, Cronin wants a higher pick this lottery. Of course he does. It’s rational. But he cannot say that. I’m not going to insult or criticize someone else’s interpretation of what he said, today. If today was an endorsement for winning as many games as possible, then we heard that presser differently.

I don’t see it necessarily coming into play with a heavy hand, but there is a threshold where players will be sat down. The playoffs are not an option for Cronin. The two timelines questions are reasonable to ask, but the vets are there to grow the youngsters. That usefulness is soon to be over. Then gone. Larger veteran salaries need to be zeroed out.

I look forward to this summer.