Cronin Gets Extension

[PDXKnight]

Grant is gone this season one way or another. A team like LA or GS would probably take him since they have no problems with the luxury tax historically. Mia always wants semi washed older players. Denver might work given the need to make Jokic happy and steer away from the weird moves their now fired gm was making, I could even see Philly taking him but idk how with PG13 on the books. Chicago does weird stuff, maybe we can send him there for our pick back? I think he has neutral value to a contender and negative value to anyone else. I'm fine with getting nothing in return but adding assets to him is malpractice after the deal you just signed him to. Probably enough cause to not extend your GM that did the deal..

I'm not so sure Grant is gone after the season. Seems like with his bad season (shooting percentages were awful) and his huge contract we'd have to overpay to unload him. Feels a lot more likely 1-2 of ayton/rob/thy/ant get dealt after free agency as their contracts aren't long term burdens at this point.

[Case2012]

I thought it was pretty clear Grant wanted out and he was expecting a trade based on his comments before the season. Something to the effect of Cronin would look for trade to get me on a competitive at some point, just not right now. He probably expected to be dealt at the deadline but..

[DusterBuster]

I thought it was pretty clear Grant wanted out and he was expecting a trade based on his comments before the season. Something to the effect of Cronin would look for trade to get me on a competitive at some point, just not right now. He probably expected to be dealt at the deadline but..

I think he expected to be dealt in the summer. When that didn't happen, he probably hoped by like December-ish... remember, Jerami was playing great to start the year. Once I think it became clear Cronin couldn't or wouldn't move him, that's when Grant's production went full Thelma and Louise.

[tester551]

I thought it was pretty clear Grant wanted out and he was expecting a trade based on his comments before the season. Something to the effect of Cronin would look for trade to get me on a competitive at some point, just not right now. He probably expected to be dealt at the deadline but..

Thing is - this team was the most competitive team Grant has been on in the last 5 years (since he left Denver).

At some point he needs to take ownership for his involvement in the teams success (or lack thereof)

[m0ng0]

Grant has not played a game after mid March since he got here.

The thing that irked me the most is we resigned him AFTER we knew Dame was gone, we could have key him go and just started the tank right then. Lose organically with the youngsters. But instead we gave him a bright, shiny, expensive, new contract.

[DusterBuster]

Grant has not played a game after mid March since he got here.

The thing that irked me the most is we resigned him AFTER we knew Dame was gone, we could have key him go and just started the tank right then. Lose organically with the youngsters. But instead we gave him a bright, shiny, expensive, new contract.

They agreed to the contract before he made the trade demand.

Renigging on that agreement because of the Dame trade demand would have been a pretty bad look for the Blazers FO and could have killed some FO/Agent relationships.

[tester551]

Grant has not played a game after mid March since he got here.

The thing that irked me the most is we resigned him AFTER we knew Dame was gone, we could have key him go and just started the tank right then. Lose organically with the youngsters. But instead we gave him a bright, shiny, expensive, new contract.

They agreed to the contract before he made the trade demand.

Renigging on that agreement because of the Dame trade demand would have been a pretty bad look for the Blazers FO and could have killed some FO/Agent relationships.

Exactly.
Fairly sure they came to an agreement on contract terms in February or March before the season ended

[m0ng0]

That's fair enough, but you can still be smart enough to adjust, as yeah it might look bad but again how many other gms would have done the same thing?

[Walton1one]

Or sought to trade him right away….

[Wizenheimer]

Grant has not played a game after mid March since he got here.

The thing that irked me the most is we resigned him AFTER we knew Dame was gone, we could have key him go and just started the tank right then. Lose organically with the youngsters. But instead we gave him a bright, shiny, expensive, new contract.

They agreed to the contract before he made the trade demand.

Renigging on that agreement because of the Dame trade demand would have been a pretty bad look for the Blazers FO and could have killed some FO/Agent relationships.

that's entirely possible; although I'm extremely skeptical the agreement was a full 5-year deal for 160M. If it was, then that still makes Cronin a fool

[DusterBuster]

Grant has not played a game after mid March since he got here.

The thing that irked me the most is we resigned him AFTER we knew Dame was gone, we could have key him go and just started the tank right then. Lose organically with the youngsters. But instead we gave him a bright, shiny, expensive, new contract.

They agreed to the contract before he made the trade demand.

Renigging on that agreement because of the Dame trade demand would have been a pretty bad look for the Blazers FO and could have killed some FO/Agent relationships.

that's entirely possible; although I'm extremely skeptical the agreement was a full 5-year deal for 160M. If it was, then that still makes Cronin a fool

Not entirely possible, factually true. Grant and the Blazers agreed to a contract June 30th, 2023. Dame’s trade demand was July 1st.

One could argue Cronin should have know it was coming for sure, but if we take it that he was operating that Dame wouldn’t actually go through with the trade demand and he was still building the team around him, then those dates line up that he offered and agreed to the Grant contract prior to an official demand out by Dame.

[Wizenheimer]

They agreed to the contract before he made the trade demand.

Renigging on that agreement because of the Dame trade demand would have been a pretty bad look for the Blazers FO and could have killed some FO/Agent relationships.

that's entirely possible; although I'm extremely skeptical the agreement was a full 5-year deal for 160M. If it was, then that still makes Cronin a fool

Not entirely possible, factually true. Grant and the Blazers agreed to a contract June 30th, 2023. Dame’s trade demand was July 1st.

One could argue Cronin should have know it was coming for sure, but if we take it that he was operating that Dame wouldn’t actually go through with the trade demand and he was still building the team around him, then those dates line up that he offered and agreed to the Grant contract prior to an official demand out by Dame.

since Cronin did everything he could to engineer and maneuver Dame into asking for a trade, yeah he should have known it was coming. In fact, I'd bet Dame asked Cronin for a trade when the Blazers drafted Scoot, without even really looking to trade the pick, and we just didn't hear about it for a week or more. I'm convinced Cronin knew full well that drafting Scoot would be the final straw for Dame

but, I was thinking more along the lines that Cronin told Grant he'd give him a new contract weeks or months before the formal offer. Giving Grant a 5-year deal with no team leverage was nuts though

[DusterBuster]

that's entirely possible; although I'm extremely skeptical the agreement was a full 5-year deal for 160M. If it was, then that still makes Cronin a fool

Not entirely possible, factually true. Grant and the Blazers agreed to a contract June 30th, 2023. Dame’s trade demand was July 1st.

One could argue Cronin should have know it was coming for sure, but if we take it that he was operating that Dame wouldn’t actually go through with the trade demand and he was still building the team around him, then those dates line up that he offered and agreed to the Grant contract prior to an official demand out by Dame.

since Cronin did everything he could to engineer and maneuver Dame into asking for a trade, yeah he should have known it was coming. In fact, I'd bet Dame asked Cronin for a trade when the Blazers drafted Scoot, without even really looking to trade the pick, and we just didn't hear about it for a week or more. I'm convinced Cronin knew full well that drafting Scoot would be the final straw for Dame

but, I was thinking more along the lines that Cronin told Grant he'd give him a new contract weeks or months before the formal offer. Giving Grant a 5-year deal with no team leverage was nuts though

There was a podcast or interview with Dame where he very clearly explained what happened and when with regards to the trade demand. I’ll have to listen to that again but he was pretty open and frank about it all

[Sinobas]

Grant shouldnt be a MUST trade guy b/c we are going to have to attach assets to move him, and that is stupid IMO for a rebuild team.
Simons is closer to a MUST trade as he actually is movable, IMO, without attaching assets (And IMO could pull a late FRP).

Would trading Grant to the Lakers be that hard without assets attached?

Yes.

We might be able to trade him for expiring ****. Vincent/Kleber/Finney-Smith.

[DusterBuster]

Would trading Grant to the Lakers be that hard without assets attached?

Yes.

We might be able to trade him for expiring ****. Vincent/Kleber/Finney-Smith.

Not without picks going to the Lakers

[JasonStern]

At this point the team seems to just be operating on complete autopilot.

Just keep things as is, let deals materialize vs being proactive to fix things.

I miss Paul Allen.

Well stated. This 100% matches my thoughts. I just hate the length of the extensions as it implies a sale is not going to happen anytime soon.

since Cronin did everything he could to engineer and maneuver Dame into asking for a trade, yeah he should have known it was coming. In fact, I'd bet Dame asked Cronin for a trade when the Blazers drafted Scoot, without even really looking to trade the pick, and we just didn't hear about it for a week or more. I'm convinced Cronin knew full well that drafting Scoot would be the final straw for Dame

Dame literally gave an interview saying this exact thing. #3 pick was supposed to be traded for something to try to contend with. Once it was the mythical PGOTF, Dame was done. No desire to spend his last years intentionally tanking over and over.

Aldridge also said he wanted to come back, and requested it multiple times. Just another "what if?" for Blazers lore.

Blazers got a decent return for Dame and Nurkic. Deni and Camara are studs that you could see being key role players on a contending team. Ayton is the best center in the league 20 games each season. Unfortunately, it's an 82 game season plus ideally additional games come playoff time.

[Norm2953]

One has to think Ayton finally an expiring contract might have some value if the team really is going to
commit to DC.

Cronin has some pieces in place and just needs to find the next Wesley Matthews in the next step in the
team's development. Is there a guy like that in this draft or available via trade?

[Tim Lehrbach]

Cronin has some pieces in place and just needs to find the next Wesley Matthews in the next step in the
team's development.

I'm curious what you think the next step in the team's development is and how a Wesley Matthews level player gets them there.

[DusterBuster]

[youtube]

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=1080TheFAN
[/youtube]
Skip to 02:24 for their take on Cronin. I don't really listen to the fan, but it's nice to hear some objective and more accurate insights on the Blazers from local media. So many of them are straight up ass kissers, especially that nerd no one can stand but for some reason has a platform.

Cronin giving himself an extension is such a brutal chefs kiss for how effed up this season went. Like really, any objective basketball mind can see this guy is not good at his job. Mediocre at best and that's right on brand for this organization..

The extension is just saying they don't care. He's a place holder until Jody either is forced to sell or someone offers 10 billion dollars or something insane.

1080 is good for pretty objective Blazer opinions… aside from Marang in the afternoons usually.

[DusterBuster]

At this point the team seems to just be operating on complete autopilot.

Just keep things as is, let deals materialize vs being proactive to fix things.

I miss Paul Allen.

Well stated. This 100% matches my thoughts. I just hate the length of the extensions as it implies a sale is not going to happen anytime soon.

Seems pretty clear they’re waiting for the expansion teams to come into play when team prices will take another jump.

They’re operating it as a business, not as someone with a passion for the team/winning. This is the new norm in the NBA for teams as well. More and more teams are VC investment groups using franchises to churn out money vs caring about sustained winning because they’re fans.

since Cronin did everything he could to engineer and maneuver Dame into asking for a trade, yeah he should have known it was coming. In fact, I'd bet Dame asked Cronin for a trade when the Blazers drafted Scoot, without even really looking to trade the pick, and we just didn't hear about it for a week or more. I'm convinced Cronin knew full well that drafting Scoot would be the final straw for Dame

Dame literally gave an interview saying this exact thing. #3 pick was supposed to be traded for something to try to contend with. Once it was the mythical PGOTF, Dame was done. No desire to spend his last years intentionally tanking over and over.

Aldridge also said he wanted to come back, and requested it multiple times. Just another "what if?" for Blazers lore.

Blazers got a decent return for Dame and Nurkic. Deni and Camara are studs that you could see being key role players on a contending team. Ayton is the best center in the league 20 games each season. Unfortunately, it's an 82 game season plus ideally additional games come playoff time.

All accurate. To be fair tho, all rumors that were leaked about what might be available for that #3 pick were pretty mediocre. Toronto was still asking for a kings ransom for OG and Siakam at the time (and he would have been a waste to move the #3 for him). Siakam was also putting it out publicly he didn’t want to goto Portland. They kicked the tires on Zion but sounded like NO didn’t have any real interest in moving him. Plus the team was still draft asset restricted because of **** Larry Nance Jr.

All that to say, Cronin never should have said what he said publicly about “going all in”. Even if he wanted to do it, the trade landscape was pretty barren that summer.