2025 Off-Season Strategy - What will Cronin do?

[oldfishermen]

It appears Cronin " may" have up to 4 roster spots to fill, (before trades). Who do you bring back?

Team option:
I'm assuming the TO for Scoot and Sharpe are picked up.
I would not pick up the TO on Murray and Rupert.

Free agents.
Both FA Banton and RFA Walker are worth considering bringing back. It would depend on their price, and who we draft.

Walker needs to be getting extended playing time at the PF position in the remaining games. Blazers need to see if his 3pt shooting is actually sustainable--I know he's worked on it for over a year. Rest Deni...

If so, he's worth bringing back as a hustle, elite rebounder who can hit the 3pt shot.

I've been a Banton supporter, but agree that he doesn't really provide anything that isn't replaceable. It would suck to lose the team's best defender at the guard position...but that's mostly because the Blazer guards are as a collection terrible at defense.

Nothing about this season makes sense. What are Billups and Cronin doing?

Compared to last season, this season, both Banton's and Walker's mpg were cut in half, or more.

[dckingsfan]

It appears Cronin " may" have up to 4 roster spots to fill, (before trades). Who do you bring back?

Team option:
I'm assuming the TO for Scoot and Sharpe are picked up.
I would not pick up the TO on Murray and Rupert.

Free agents.
Both FA Banton and RFA Walker are worth considering bringing back. It would depend on their price, and who we draft.

Walker needs to be getting extended playing time at the PF position in the remaining games. Blazers need to see if his 3pt shooting is actually sustainable--I know he's worked on it for over a year. Rest Deni...

If so, he's worth bringing back as a hustle, elite rebounder who can hit the 3pt shot.

I've been a Banton supporter, but agree that he doesn't really provide anything that isn't replaceable. It would suck to lose the team's best defender at the guard position...but that's mostly because the Blazer guards are as a collection terrible at defense.

Nothing about this season makes sense. What are Billups and Cronin doing?

Compared to last season, this season, both Banton's and Walker's mpg were cut in half, or more.

I won't defend Cronin, there is just not much to defend.

As for Walker, he got squeezed by Deni, Camara and Grant. But he has been playing really great of late and should be receiving a lot more minutes now (except he is hurt (concussion protocol) - smh). Banton's 788 minutes seem reasonable against his production.

I think you are saying that both should play more in the dog days, couldn't agree with that more.

Also, I hope they don't just "pick up" the option for Sharpe. But now I am preaching and screeching. And it really depends on Rupert, if it is a minimum contract...

[Walton1one]

What is Cronin going to do?

Very little, if he can get a player he likes and trade away the 25' pick and other picks, maybe even a fringe rotational player or two, he will.

Otherwise, he will keep the pick, not finding other teams' offers to his liking, as per usual, and then draft another young player who will struggle to find minutes behind a ragtag collection of ill-fitting veteran players, who will once again, take the lion's share of minutes\usage away from younger players.

This year was a perfect storm of ineptitude and ill fortune for many teams, which just propped a bad POR team up enough to give their mgmt delusions of grandeur...

[Wizenheimer]

The Blazers really hosed themselves losing that Toronto game...going from 8th (with a loss) to 10th.

If a player like Maluach falls to 8th, I could see getting some value from teams wanting to trade up since this draft is light on good Center prospects.

Of course this is all on Cronin for not ditching whomever he could of Simons, Ayton and Grant prior to the season. The Blazers would likely be 4th or 5th if he would have done that--47% and 42% chance at a top 4 pick, at those respective positions.

Blazers are 11th seed in the lottery right now and very well could end up as 12th seed....getting the worst seed in the lottery without making the play-in

it's idiotic what Cronin and Blazer management have done this year. A confederacy of dunces throwing darts at a board, and missing the board entirely.

[zzaj]

The Blazers really hosed themselves losing that Toronto game...going from 8th (with a loss) to 10th.

If a player like Maluach falls to 8th, I could see getting some value from teams wanting to trade up since this draft is light on good Center prospects.

Of course this is all on Cronin for not ditching whomever he could of Simons, Ayton and Grant prior to the season. The Blazers would likely be 4th or 5th if he would have done that--47% and 42% chance at a top 4 pick, at those respective positions.

Blazers are 11th seed in the lottery right now and very well could end up as 12th seed....getting the worst seed in the lottery without making the play-in

it's idiotic what Cronin and Blazer management have done this year. A confederacy of dunces throwing darts at a board, and missing the board entirely.

Yep. I posted similarly elsewhere. Phoenix above the Blazers has mostly Playoff teams the rest of the way. Almost a guarantee that the Blazers pass them. Hellllllooooo #12. SMH...

[Wizenheimer]

The Blazers really hosed themselves losing that Toronto game...going from 8th (with a loss) to 10th.

If a player like Maluach falls to 8th, I could see getting some value from teams wanting to trade up since this draft is light on good Center prospects.

Of course this is all on Cronin for not ditching whomever he could of Simons, Ayton and Grant prior to the season. The Blazers would likely be 4th or 5th if he would have done that--47% and 42% chance at a top 4 pick, at those respective positions.

Blazers are 11th seed in the lottery right now and very well could end up as 12th seed....getting the worst seed in the lottery without making the play-in

it's idiotic what Cronin and Blazer management have done this year. A confederacy of dunces throwing darts at a board, and missing the board entirely.

Yep. I posted similarly elsewhere. Phoenix above the Blazers has mostly Playoff teams the rest of the way. Almost a guarantee that the Blazers pass them. Hellllllooooo #12. SMH...

I'd think the Blazers are a lot more likely to pass Dallas than Phoenix. Dallas is cratering big time. Phoenix is trying to win and is 3 games ahead of Portland (tiebreaker). Suns are only 1 game behind Dallas and they own the tiebreaker over the Mavs

if Portland goes 5-8 over the last 13 games, the Suns could go 3-10 and still get 10th seed ahead of Portland

Blazer schedule:

Memphis Grizzlies
Denver Nuggets
Boston Celtics
Cleveland Cavaliers
@ Sacramento Kings
@ New York Knicks
@ Atlanta Hawks
@ Toronto Raptors
@ Chicago Bulls
San Antonio Spurs
@ Utah Jazz
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Lakers

I'd think it's unlikely the Blazers will win 5 of those games. I'd think the best they could do over the next 4 games is 1-3. Maybe 2-3 over that 5 game road trip. Beat the Spurs and they are at 3-4 wins. If they lose to the KIngs, every teams above them will own the tiebreaker over Portland.

normally, you can count on a couple of good teams sand-bagging at the end of the season. But the Warriors are dead even in a battle with Minny to avoid the play-in. And the Lakers are even with Memphis in a battle for 4th seed and HCA

[zzaj]

Blazers are 11th seed in the lottery right now and very well could end up as 12th seed....getting the worst seed in the lottery without making the play-in

it's idiotic what Cronin and Blazer management have done this year. A confederacy of dunces throwing darts at a board, and missing the board entirely.

Yep. I posted similarly elsewhere. Phoenix above the Blazers has mostly Playoff teams the rest of the way. Almost a guarantee that the Blazers pass them. Hellllllooooo #12. SMH...

I'd think the Blazers are a lot more likely to pass Dallas than Phoenix. Dallas is cratering big time. Phoenix is trying to win and is 3 games ahead of Portland (tiebreaker). Suns are only 1 game behind Dallas and they own the tiebreaker over the Mavs

if Portland goes 5-8 over the last 13 games, the Suns could go 3-10 and still get 10th seed ahead of Portland...

You very well could be correct. Here's Phoenix's remaining schedule--at .616 pretty easily the hardest SOS to end the season:

Chicago
Cleveland
Milwaukie x2
Boston x2
Minnesota
Houston
NYK
Golden State
OKC
San Antonio
Sacramento

They could very well win 3 of those...maybe more. That's murderers row to end the season, however...

[Walton1one]

I almost am wishing for the scenario Wiz laid out to come to fruition, if only to maybe put Joe on the hot seat a little at the end of the season and have to answer questions (if any of POR inept media even bother to ask) about trying to go for the play in, only to just miss out and tank their lottery odds in the process.

[Sinobas]

The Blazers really hosed themselves losing that Toronto game...going from 8th (with a loss) to 10th.

If a player like Maluach falls to 8th, I could see getting some value from teams wanting to trade up since this draft is light on good Center prospects.

Of course this is all on Cronin for not ditching whomever he could of Simons, Ayton and Grant prior to the season. The Blazers would likely be 4th or 5th if he would have done that--47% and 42% chance at a top 4 pick, at those respective positions.

Blazers are 11th seed in the lottery right now and very well could end up as 12th seed....getting the worst seed in the lottery without making the play-in

it's idiotic what Cronin and Blazer management have done this year. A confederacy of dunces throwing darts at a board, and missing the board entirely.

But we are not playing well due to Grant/Ayton/Simons. Ayton and Grant haven't even been playing and I think we've actually fared better when they are out. In fact, those 3 on the court at the same time had one of the worst net ratings in the league.

he main catalyst of our success has been Deni and Camara. Are we going to piss on Cronin for acquiring a good young core? The team is too good to suck now. Teams don't go from terrible to good over night, there's an in between stage, which we are in right now.

[zzaj]

The Blazers really hosed themselves losing that Toronto game...going from 8th (with a loss) to 10th.

If a player like Maluach falls to 8th, I could see getting some value from teams wanting to trade up since this draft is light on good Center prospects.

Of course this is all on Cronin for not ditching whomever he could of Simons, Ayton and Grant prior to the season. The Blazers would likely be 4th or 5th if he would have done that--47% and 42% chance at a top 4 pick, at those respective positions.

Blazers are 11th seed in the lottery right now and very well could end up as 12th seed....getting the worst seed in the lottery without making the play-in

it's idiotic what Cronin and Blazer management have done this year. A confederacy of dunces throwing darts at a board, and missing the board entirely.

But we are not playing well due to Grant/Ayton/Simons. Ayton and Grant haven't even been playing and I think we've actually fared better when they are out. In fact, those 3 on the court at the same time had one of the worst net ratings in the league.

he main catalyst of our success has been Deni and Camara. Are we going to piss on Cronin for acquiring a good young core? The team is too good to suck now. Teams don't go from terrible to good over night, there's an in between stage, which we are in right now.

Since January 19th, when the Blazers seem to have started playing well--Simons, Ayton or Grant have led the team in scoring in 12 of the 18 wins. 2/3rd of the Ws in that time period were largely impacted by that trio.

Now, you could argue that "wins" don't always equate with "playing well"--but that's a stretch with this team.

I agree with you that Deni and Camara have looked like the catalysts for some of the on court turnaround since 1/19, and Cronin deserves credit for identifying both of those players and making moves for them (even though it was initially Schmitz that liked Camara).

Some would argue that the price for Deni and Camara was fairly high. In the process the Blazers gave up a Top 15 NBA player--arguably the best player in Blazer history--and two FRPs. Personally, given the situation with Lillard seeming beyond any kind of repair and the jury still being out on what the end of the deal will look like when the picks come to fruition for Portland, I tend to be fine with the Lillard portion. And Deni is better than any player the Blazers likely would have picked at #14...so I tend to be okay with that one as well.

[oldfishermen]

Blazers are 11th seed in the lottery right now and very well could end up as 12th seed....getting the worst seed in the lottery without making the play-in

it's idiotic what Cronin and Blazer management have done this year. A confederacy of dunces throwing darts at a board, and missing the board entirely.

But we are not playing well due to Grant/Ayton/Simons. Ayton and Grant haven't even been playing and I think we've actually fared better when they are out. In fact, those 3 on the court at the same time had one of the worst net ratings in the league.

he main catalyst of our success has been Deni and Camara. Are we going to piss on Cronin for acquiring a good young core? The team is too good to suck now. Teams don't go from terrible to good over night, there's an in between stage, which we are in right now.

Since January 19th, when the Blazers seem to have started playing well--Simons, Ayton or Grant have led the team in scoring in 12 of the 18 wins. 2/3rd of the Ws in that time period were largely impacted by that trio.

Now, you could argue that "wins" don't always equate with "playing well"--but that's a stretch with this team.

I agree with you that Deni and Camara have looked like the catalysts for some of the on court turnaround since 1/19, and Cronin deserves credit for identifying both of those players and making moves for them (even though it was initially Schmitz that liked Camara).

Some would argue that the price for Deni and Camara was fairly high. In the process the Blazers gave up a Top 15 NBA player--arguably the best player in Blazer history--and two FRPs. Personally, given the situation with Lillard seeming beyond any kind of repair and the jury still being out on what the end of the deal will look like when the picks come to fruition for Portland, I tend to be fine with the Lillard portion. And Deni is better than any player the Blazers likely would have picked at #14...so I tend to be okay with that one as well.

Both Deni and Camara were great gets.

My question, was it Cronin, or Mike Schmitz that found them?

Since Mile Schmitz was hired. The type of players added to the roster has changed, for the better. Or is this just my imagination working ot.

[Sinobas]

Since January 19th, when the Blazers seem to have started playing well--Simons, Ayton or Grant have led the team in scoring in 12 of the 18 wins. 2/3rd of the Ws in that time period were largely impacted by that trio.

Now, you could argue that "wins" don't always equate with "playing well"--but that's a stretch with this team.

I agree with you that Deni and Camara have looked like the catalysts for some of the on court turnaround since 1/19, and Cronin deserves credit for identifying both of those players and making moves for them (even though it was initially Schmitz that liked Camara).

Some would argue that the price for Deni and Camara was fairly high. In the process the Blazers gave up a Top 15 NBA player--arguably the best player in Blazer history--and two FRPs. Personally, given the situation with Lillard seeming beyond any kind of repair and the jury still being out on what the end of the deal will look like when the picks come to fruition for Portland, I tend to be fine with the Lillard portion. And Deni is better than any player the Blazers likely would have picked at #14...so I tend to be okay with that one as well.

Jerami Grant has been ass all year. He'll have a good game every now and then, but he's mostly bad. Ayton is ok, but he's one of those players where the box score makes him look better than he is. He'll slack on defense and has an inconsistent motor. There's a reason Joe drafted Clingan.

I've never heard anyone say that we paid to much for Camara. He was an extra that Joe got in the trade and he's turning into an elite role player.. And I've not seen any Blazer fan say we paid too much for Deni since he broke out of his early season slump. Acquiring Deni was a major steal, and just about everyone that follows the NBA knows that.

Some people on this board seem to be desperate to hate Cronin. But I just give him credit for the good moves he's made.

[zzaj]

Since January 19th, when the Blazers seem to have started playing well--Simons, Ayton or Grant have led the team in scoring in 12 of the 18 wins. 2/3rd of the Ws in that time period were largely impacted by that trio.

Now, you could argue that "wins" don't always equate with "playing well"--but that's a stretch with this team.

I agree with you that Deni and Camara have looked like the catalysts for some of the on court turnaround since 1/19, and Cronin deserves credit for identifying both of those players and making moves for them (even though it was initially Schmitz that liked Camara).

Some would argue that the price for Deni and Camara was fairly high. In the process the Blazers gave up a Top 15 NBA player--arguably the best player in Blazer history--and two FRPs. Personally, given the situation with Lillard seeming beyond any kind of repair and the jury still being out on what the end of the deal will look like when the picks come to fruition for Portland, I tend to be fine with the Lillard portion. And Deni is better than any player the Blazers likely would have picked at #14...so I tend to be okay with that one as well.

Jerami Grant has been ass all year. He'll have a good game every now and then, but he's mostly bad. Ayton is ok, but he's one of those players where the box score makes him look better than he is. He'll slack on defense and has an inconsistent motor. There's a reason Joe drafted Clingan.

I've never heard anyone say that we paid to much for Camara. He was an extra that Joe got in the trade and he's turning into an elite role player.. And I've not seen any Blazer fan say we paid too much for Deni since he broke out of his early season slump. Acquiring Deni was a major steal, and just about everyone that follows the NBA knows that.

Some people on this board seem to be desperate to hate Cronin. But I just give him credit for the good moves he's made.

I don't really disagree here...especially about the "ass" part. Regarding Deni...the argument is less about overpaying, and more about the timing of giving up draft picks and acquiring a breaking out player whom they may not be able to retain, when the team should be tanking as hard as they can for a #1 option. Plenty of people here on RealGM, and in NBA media have brought this up...

[Wizenheimer]

Jerami Grant has been ass all year. He'll have a good game every now and then, but he's mostly bad. Ayton is ok, but he's one of those players where the box score makes him look better than he is. He'll slack on defense and has an inconsistent motor. There's a reason Joe drafted Clingan.

I've never heard anyone say that we paid to much for Camara. He was an extra that Joe got in the trade and he's turning into an elite role player.. And I've not seen any Blazer fan say we paid too much for Deni since he broke out of his early season slump. Acquiring Deni was a major steal, and just about everyone that follows the NBA knows that.

Some people on this board seem to be desperate to hate Cronin. But I just give him credit for the good moves he's made.

Cronin has made some good moves; he's also made plenty of bad moves. Context is important

* dismantling the idiot Olshey roster and trading away CJ-Powell-RoCo-Nance was necessary and a pair of good moves considering that he got Hart and created the assets/TPE to acquire Grant (I also would suggest he had the Vulcans pushing him into that kind of roster clearing)

* acquiring Grant was a good move; re-signing him was a bad move

* re-signing Simons and Nurkic for far above their market value at the time were bad moves

* signing Gary Payton and hard-capping the Blazers was a bad move

* Matching the Thybulle offer sheet was a bad move; really dumb

* even though it's pretty clear that Cronin boxed Dame into the corner that 'forced' him into demanding a trade, it could be argued as a necessary move. So, maybe neutral. But coveting Ayton for 2 years as Cronin reportedly did was dumb; and making Ayton the centerpiece of the return for Dame was dumber; and agreeing to take back the total injury magnet Timelord as part of the trade was dumber-squared. Cronin traded one deeply flawed big man (Nurkic at 18M/year) for two deeply flawed big men at 47M year. That was a bad move

* getting Camara in the trade was a good move but I'm extremely skeptical that Cronin/Schmitz knew he was going to be this good

* trading for Avdija was a good move even though the timing of that kind of move is questionable, but the price was fairly steep. The Blazers paid Brogdon + 4 draft picks for Avdija. And it could be they will end up paying 2 lottery picks for him as well as their 2028 & 2030 2nd round picks. And because of Avdija's contract, he won't be signing an extension and will become UFA, and the Blazers may convey those 3 picks after Avdija signs with another team. We can't really judge the Avdija trade properly until we see what the 2029 first is and if Avdija re-signs with Portland

* never fully committing to a rebuild has been a really bad series of decisions. If Trading Dame was necessary, then also trading Simons, Grant, Ayton, Timelord, and Thybulle were necessary as well. Keeping those vets is fence-straddling at it's worst

* keep in mind that right now, the positive assets Portland got from the Dame trade are Avdija, Camara, a very likely late 1st in 2029, and a couple of swaps that may not convey. I know many will say that's a good return for an aging franchise player; maybe it is. But again: context. OKC traded Paul George and got SGA, Jalen Williams, and still have an unprotected Clippers picks in 2026 plus an unprotected Miami pick the same year; that trade has made them a championship contender. The Jazz traded Donovan Mitchell for Lauri Markkanen, Colin Sexton, Isaiah Collier and still have 3 late first round picks coming vs Portland with 1

and yes, those vets Portland has unwisely kept have added damaging wins. According to winshares, the foursome of Simons-Ayton-Grant-Timelord have added 10 wins this season. Having watched the games, I'm pretty certain it's closer to 13-15 wins. However, replacement players would have added a win or two, and more minutes for the young guys would have added a win or two

so call it 10 wins added by the vets, Subtract those wins and the Blazers would be 5th seed in the lottery. Find a way to lose another game and they'd be tied for 4th seed; lose another and they are tied for 3rd seed

Cronin inherited a team that won the equivalent of 48 games. This is his 4th season and his roster is 12th seed. Worse is that every season, because of his fence-straddling with flawed high price role-players, the Blazers are always dodging the luxury tax. They may make it to the play-in but only because other teams are tanking and injured

I'm not nearly as anti-Cronin as I was anti-Olshey. Don't even think that's possible as I hated Olshey. But I'm pretty unsatisfied with the job Cronin has done

[Norm2953]

It'd be interesting in the light of the Celtics being sold for $6.1 Billion, if Jody finally sells the Blazers, how
much of Cronin's strategy (assuming he's still the GM) changes with a new owner

[Walton1one]

The bad far outweighs the good when it comes to Cronin. from roster decisions, coaching decisions, chasing a play in, lack of activity outside of the Deni trade, he has been very sub par. I grew to dislike Olshey, but am pretty much fed up with giving Cronin any more chances\leeway right now. The most critical time to set this team up for future success and he is bumbling it away...

I will hold out a sliver of hope that this offseason will be different and Cronin will do what he should have done 1-2 years ago, but that is just me being a sucker POR fan...

[oldfishermen]

FWIW, my take on Cronin.

As a person, I like Cronin, and would be honored to have him as a friend.

As a GM, not so much.

Cronin is too nice of a person to be a GM. He is way too easy to take advantage of. Both player agents and other GMs have taken advantage of him.

How he negotiates future trades and player contracts will display if he has developed the skills necessary to continue as the Blazer's GM.

I'm not a Cronin hater. I believe he is too good of a person to give up on, and support him, for now.

[HoopsFanAZ]

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/portland-trail-blazers/yearly

Summer and the February deadline. One is where the Blazers under Cronin has made moves. The other is where they talk … and where they will have between zero to not much leverage on expiring contracts named DAEC, ASEC, RWEC, and (if he opts in) MTEC.
[Grant with $32M next season then $34.2M then his p-opt at $36.4M]

DAEC $35.6M
ASEC $27.7M
RWEC $13.3M
MTEC $11.6M

The situation. Who to keep if they become back-ups — and at what cost? At this point, I’m with “none” of the above.

[zzaj]

I think there's almost no chance that Ayton or Simons gets traded in the offseason.

Based on the way we've seen Cronin stick with guys, I'm sure he's thinking..."looks how good the team has played without Ayton in there. We'll be even better with him in the starting lineup."

I'm sure he's talked himself into believing that Grant and his 3 rebounds per game is indispensable too. Grant is an albatross now...I hope he gets "shooter off the bench" minutes for the rest of his time in Portland. If he can't find his shot again? Then he just rides the pine...

That'll never happen though.

[zzaj]

Based on tonight's loss, the Blazers have a real possibility of getting down to the #8 pick in the draft. They 100% should call it a season, give Scoot, Rupert, Murray, Walker and Clingan all the minutes and 0-fer the last of the season.

They aren't going to hit the play-in.