2025 Off-Season Strategy - What will Cronin do?

[Norm2953]

I'm doubtful with new ownership on the horizon, Cronin will have the green light to make any
big money moves. This assumes Ant wants to be here and willing to sign for even market value.

[The Sebastian Express]

On the plus side, I remember Marang distinctly saying last summer that he suspected Ant and Grant to be gone before training camp and as we saw that didn't happen so many that's good news about how bad he is re: trades.

[oldfishermen]

Not sure how I feel about this trade idea?

Simons for Jordan Poole.

If Wash takes a PG with pick #6, there is a very good chance Poole will be traded.

Why for Portland? Slight upgrade. Poole played very well this past season. We get the better overall player.

Why for Wash? They save $4 million first season, and Simons expiring saves them $34 million the second season.

OMG!!! I would hate that so much. I cannot stand that guy.

Plenty of reasons to hate on Poole, both as a person and as a selfish player. His time with the Warriors was a disaster. His first season in Wash was not much better. However..

Last season Poole matured. He worked hard to redeem himself, both as a person, and as a team player. It appears he has turned a corner and is developing in the right dirrection. I would rather have Poole than Simons on the Blazer's roster.

What concerns me about Poole is the second year of his contract. And how paying him $34 million would affect re-signing our own keeper players. Just not sure Poole is the best option, or, if he would be a good fit, especially after the draft.

I believe Poole has good seasons ahead playing for some team. Just not sure it should be the Blazers.

[DusterBuster]

Plenty of reasons to hate on Poole, both as a person and as a selfish player. His time with the Warriors was a disaster. His first season in Wash was not much better. However..

I love this opening paragraph so much.

[Walton1one]

OKC lost 1 game all year to an EC team (CLE) & here in the finals they are down 2-1 to IND

Impressive team performance, a team that is legitimately 9-10 deep. Not a bad blueprint for POR to try and emulate, if they care to.

Of course, POR has no player like Halliburton or Siakam, yet

[Case2012]

I wonder if we would have won a ring by now if Paul had never fired Pritchard.

I really gotta give it up to him, he's consistently put out good teams over the years and made big trades when he had to or they presented themselves, smart picks and good hires. If Indy wins it I would not be surprised. When they traded for Siakam, a move Cronin chickened out on, i thought they're really going for it and they have a good chance. I loved Mathurin in the draft and he just dropped 25 in a finals game. Pretty much across the board Pritchard has made smart move after smart move including getting a champion coach. I really hope they win it, he built them the right way but it kind of stings knowing he would have probably done it here first and not wasted Dame's career the way these bozos did.

Cronin should really look to Pritchard and how he built this Pacers team rather than how Olshey built his teams, signing no defense guards to giant deals. he would basically be repeating Olshey, something he's done several times. I always have to remind myself that Kolde is the REALGM not Cronin.

Ultimately if that bozo Kolde thinks we're a step away from contending and that will raise the value of the team, then he'll probably run it back with Simons resigned and maybe make a trade for Zion. CB's accusers have never recanted and they just gave him another deal. Jody's had her run ins with the sexual harassment herself. I just hope this sale comes out of nowhere in the next week and we get saved from Bert's last hurrah as shadow GM this summer.

[Wizenheimer]

Cronin should really look to Pritchard and how he built this Pacers team rather than how Olshey built his teams, signing no defense guards to giant deals. he would basically be repeating Olshey, something he's done several times. I always have to remind myself that Kolde is the REALGM not Cronin.

Ultimately if that bozo Kolde thinks we're a step away from contending and that will raise the value of the team, then he'll probably run it back with Simons resigned and maybe make a trade for Zion. CB's accusers have never recanted and they just gave him another deal. Jody's had her run ins with the sexual harassment herself. I just hope this sale comes out of nowhere in the next week and we get saved from Bert's last hurrah as shadow GM this summer.

my take is that Bert Kolde's actual influence over Blazer personnel decisions has been extremely exaggerated.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I just cannot help but notice that through a revolving door of GM the Blazers continue to suffer the same problems with front office decision making. At some point you gotta ask what is the thing that has not changed in all that time.

[Case2012]

Cronin should really look to Pritchard and how he built this Pacers team rather than how Olshey built his teams, signing no defense guards to giant deals. he would basically be repeating Olshey, something he's done several times. I always have to remind myself that Kolde is the REALGM not Cronin.

Ultimately if that bozo Kolde thinks we're a step away from contending and that will raise the value of the team, then he'll probably run it back with Simons resigned and maybe make a trade for Zion. CB's accusers have never recanted and they just gave him another deal. Jody's had her run ins with the sexual harassment herself. I just hope this sale comes out of nowhere in the next week and we get saved from Bert's last hurrah as shadow GM this summer.

my take is that Bert Kolde's actual influence over Blazer personnel decisions has been extremely exaggerated.

Really? Cronin and Billups talking about him during that presser to announce their new deals seem to indicate the opposite, why do you say that? I feel like so many of their decisions were so bizarre that only someone really out of touch would make them. There was that bit about weekly phone conferences etc. IDK, it doesn't seem like they really have as much autonomy as a lot of other execs and they're mostly yes men.

[Wizenheimer]

I just cannot help but notice that through a revolving door of GM the Blazers continue to suffer the same problems with front office decision making. At some point you gotta ask what is the thing that has not changed in all that time.

do you think it was Bert Kolde that ordered Cronin to give Simons 25M/year when Simons couldn't have gotten 15M/year as an RFA? That Kolde told Cronin to give Nurkic 18M/year when he had no other realistic options paying him half that?

do you think it was Kolde who ordered Cronin to hard-cap the Blazers by signing an injured-needing-surgery Gary Payton. Or Kolde who made Cronin match the ludicrous Thybulle contract hamstringing Portland's flexibility all season?

did Kolde tell Cronin to give Grant 33M/year for 5 years instead of 25M/year for 4 years?

because if Kolde was lead on all the bad decisions, then he was lead on all the good decisions. Can't have it both ways. I don't reject the notion that Kolde is meddlesome. I can easily believe he is. What I reject is the idea that the real bad ideas are Kolde's and the good ones Cronin's. The same crap excuse was offered in the Olshey era: Paul Allen was the guy who made the bad decisions. And, I am quite ready to believe PA made bad decisions: he was the guy who hired Olshey to begin with and still had him as GM 6 years later when he died...and long after it was glaringly obvious what a crappy GM Olshey was

Simons is a good example. Jason Quick reported that it was Cronin who convinced Olshey to look at Simons in the 2018 draft. Cronin's first signing was Simons. And now we're hearing lots of buzz that Cronin may intend to re-sign/extend Simons. Sure, that could be a designed leak to leverage Orlando or Dallas or whoever into upping an offer for Simons. But it certainly creates a dotted line linking Simons and Cronin; not Simons and Kolde

Goldblum said, a couple of months before the trade, that Cronin/Schmitz were targeting Avdija in trade talks. But I guess that was Kolde pulling the strings

you're right, Kolde has been around a long time. And he certainly was there to fill in the gap after PA died. But if he was orchestrating things when Olshey was GM, why would he allow Cronin to dismantle the Olshey roster by trading CJ-Powell-RoCo-Nance? were thos Olshey guys or Kolde guys? And if Olshey was a strong enough GM to keep Kolde at arms length but Cronin isn't.....yeeeeeesh....not good

IMO, a sale of the team can't happen soon enough; and maybe a new owner will clear out all of this PDQ

[Walton1one]

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Then I doubt Grant is going anywhere. For a neutral package, he might get dealt, but Cronin adding picks to move off his deal is not going to happen IMO, but oy boy, (2) 1st round picks to this....

[Butter]

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Then I doubt Grant is going anywhere. For a neutral package, he might get dealt, but Cronin adding picks to move off his deal is not going to happen IMO, but oy boy, (2) 1st round picks to this....

Step 1, get the pick back from Chicago?

[DusterBuster]

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Then I doubt Grant is going anywhere. For a neutral package, he might get dealt, but Cronin adding picks to move off his deal is not going to happen IMO, but oy boy, (2) 1st round picks to this....

Yeah, this is probably Grant asked for a trade, Cronin told him they'll try... but if all the offers are asking for the Blazers to attach FRP's to get it done, he can go back to JG and tell him, "We tried but we can't find a deal, so get ready to collect your check and suit up for next season."

[Tim Lehrbach]

Here's a question, just thinking aloud... how good do we think the frontcourt can be next year? Deni and Camara are of course both excellent forwards, Clingan was super promising as a rookie and should improve, and Grant and Ayton are, uh, there. Even the deep bench has upside if Timelord is healthy and Walker returns.

Reason I'm asking is because we all know Portland needs a dynamic #1 guy, and we'd all love for that guy to be a big wing or guard, but if we're already covered with a really good frontcourt, maybe it actually is time for a major move. If I've underestimated the ceiling of our bigs and forwards, could making a big splash move using other available assets vault us higher than I've heretofore imagined?

Like, I was saying in the draft thread that it might be cool to come away from the draft with Traore and Coward. If they and either Simons or Banton, plus Thybulle, represent our depth, we've still got Scoot, Shaedon, and other assets like future picks to trade for a major piece.

I haven't supported that path because I didn't envision the resulting roster being good enough to justify pushing the chips in. But what if Camara/Deni/Clingan + depth is totally awesome and the return for our trade assets is greater than I imagined?

I don't really know what kind of response I'm looking for. Just expressing some hope on a Thursday afternoon.

[DusterBuster]

Here's a question, just thinking aloud... how good do we think the frontcourt can be next year? Deni and Camara are of course both excellent forwards, Clingan was super promising as a rookie and should improve, and Grant and Ayton are, uh, there. Even the deep bench has upside if Timelord is healthy and Walker returns.

Reason I'm asking is because we all know Portland needs a dynamic #1 guy, and we'd all love for that guy to be a big wing or guard, but if we're already covered with a really good frontcourt, maybe it actually is time for a major move. If I've underestimated the ceiling of our bigs and forwards, could making a big splash move using other available assets vault us higher than I've heretofore imagined?

Like, I was saying in the draft thread that it might be cool to come away from the draft with Traore and Coward. If they and either Simons or Banton, plus Thybulle, represent our depth, we've still got Scoot, Shaedon, and other assets like future picks to trade for a major piece.

I haven't supported that path because I didn't envision the resulting roster being good enough to justify pushing the chips in. But what if Camara/Deni/Clingan + depth is totally awesome and the return for our trade assets is greater than I imagined?

I don't really know what kind of response I'm looking for. Just expressing some hope on a Thursday afternoon.

I'll pile on some hope, I wouldn't be shocked to see Portland - with some health luck and incremental continued player improvement - in a playoff spot next year, even with minimal changes. Not saying I "expect" it before everyone starts pearl clutching at that comment, just saying I wouldn't be surprised to see them pushing 45-ish wins if guys stay healthy, Deni, Tou and Donovan keep improving and some guys embrace bench roles.

The Blazers really do have the makings of another Houston-like team... but they also have the trappings of that team too. Two seasons ago Rockets reminded me a lot of last seasons Blazers. Sengun = Deni, Thompson = Tou, Green = Sharpe, FVV = Sharpe, some vet sprinkled around... you get the rough idea.

Advanced stat people, please save your comp posts explaining why I'm wrong by the numbers with these, I'm just painting with broad strokes here...

It was a team with a lot of "stuff", no real anchor player, but a lot of pieces that could get feisty. That's basically what Cronin has created. So if they are on that trajectory, the Blazers continuing to gel and continuing their defensive ethos should lead to more wins. But like the Rockets, it's gonna be a quick one and done playoffs run if they get there because they don't have that real core anchor player.

[Walton1one]

Dallas getting Flagg and SA getting the #2 pick and a full year of Fox is not going to help that cause...

DAL finished @ #10
SA @ #13, behind POR
PHX tied with POR @ #11/12
NO finished #14 with a host of injuries, doubt that happens again

So PHX drops below, NO can't overcome POR, SA passes POR all some version of likely (SA) to could happen (PHX\NO), that places POR @ #12

I would wager SAC @ #9 would drop below DAL & SA (likely) and possibly POR, so now POR is @ #11.

Who else is dropping pas POR?

Memphis? Golden State? Doubtful on either IMO. SO, POR is hoping for a team above them to undergo an injury filled campaign like NO just did, and of course that they remain relatively injury free, likelihood of that? Small...

This of course also assumes that POR play at the end of the year was not a fluke, byproduct of the schedule and teams injured\playing for lotto balls, which may may not be the case next year.

[Tim Lehrbach]

Dallas getting Flagg and SA getting the #2 pick and a full year of Fox is not going to help that cause...

DAL finished @ #10
SA @ #13, behind POR
PHX tied with POR @ #11/12
NO finished #14 with a host of injuries, doubt that happens again

So PHX drops below, NO can't overcome POR, SA passes POR all some version of likely (SA) to could happen (PHX\NO), that places POR @ #12

I would wager SAC @ #9 would drop below DAL & SA (likely) and possibly POR, so now POR is @ #11.

Who else is dropping pas POR?

Memphis? Golden State? Doubtful on either IMO. SO, POR is hoping for a team above them to undergo an injury filled campaign like NO just did, and of course that they remain relatively injury free, likelihood of that? Small...

This of course also assumes that POR play at the end of the year was not a fluke, byproduct of the schedule and teams injured\playing for lotto balls, which may may not be the case next year.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 40 minutes of optimism.

[Wizenheimer]

Here's a question, just thinking aloud... how good do we think the frontcourt can be next year? Deni and Camara are of course both excellent forwards, Clingan was super promising as a rookie and should improve, and Grant and Ayton are, uh, there. Even the deep bench has upside if Timelord is healthy and Walker returns.

Reason I'm asking is because we all know Portland needs a dynamic #1 guy, and we'd all love for that guy to be a big wing or guard, but if we're already covered with a really good frontcourt, maybe it actually is time for a major move. If I've underestimated the ceiling of our bigs and forwards, could making a big splash move using other available assets vault us higher than I've heretofore imagined?

Like, I was saying in the draft thread that it might be cool to come away from the draft with Traore and Coward. If they and either Simons or Banton, plus Thybulle, represent our depth, we've still got Scoot, Shaedon, and other assets like future picks to trade for a major piece.

I haven't supported that path because I didn't envision the resulting roster being good enough to justify pushing the chips in. But what if Camara/Deni/Clingan + depth is totally awesome and the return for our trade assets is greater than I imagined?

I don't really know what kind of response I'm looking for. Just expressing some hope on a Thursday afternoon.

I think the front-court you see could be good; maybe not as good as you imagine, but good. Playoff good? probably not; play-in good, sure. You already know how I feel: any minutes for Ayton is Portland being worse than it could be. Grant? He doesn't bother me near as much as Simons and Ayton. Yeah, his contract sucks, but a Grant that buys into a supporting role would be a nice player

so sure...Avdija/Camara/Grant + Clingan has potential to be solid. A healthy Timelord would help a lot, but I think that's a fictional character

now, I'm not one who sees Avdija as being a certain all-star. Maybe he could be. But I think his ceiling is as a 3rd, possibly 2nd option.

so the Blazers would still be needing a Batman. I don't think they have even a Robin in either Sharpe/Scoot. Maybe a light will go off over Sharpe and he ascends. But odds are that would have happened last season if the light is actually in his toolbox. Scoot I'm not sold on at all at this stage

so, to me, the pursuit of playoffs is kind of pointless unless the Blazers can find that Batman. It will just be back to the Dame era mediocrity, only without a Dame. Better supporting cast but no star to support

I know it sure looks like Cronin wants to go all in on the current roster. I think it would be a big mistake but I'm not in charge...and maybe I'm seriously underrating the cast. I will say if Simons/Ayton/Grant are still on the team next season, Billups will start all 3, and one of Avdija/Sharpe will join Clingan and Scoot on the bench

[Tim Lehrbach]

Here's a question, just thinking aloud... how good do we think the frontcourt can be next year? Deni and Camara are of course both excellent forwards, Clingan was super promising as a rookie and should improve, and Grant and Ayton are, uh, there. Even the deep bench has upside if Timelord is healthy and Walker returns.

Reason I'm asking is because we all know Portland needs a dynamic #1 guy, and we'd all love for that guy to be a big wing or guard, but if we're already covered with a really good frontcourt, maybe it actually is time for a major move. If I've underestimated the ceiling of our bigs and forwards, could making a big splash move using other available assets vault us higher than I've heretofore imagined?

Like, I was saying in the draft thread that it might be cool to come away from the draft with Traore and Coward. If they and either Simons or Banton, plus Thybulle, represent our depth, we've still got Scoot, Shaedon, and other assets like future picks to trade for a major piece.

I haven't supported that path because I didn't envision the resulting roster being good enough to justify pushing the chips in. But what if Camara/Deni/Clingan + depth is totally awesome and the return for our trade assets is greater than I imagined?

I don't really know what kind of response I'm looking for. Just expressing some hope on a Thursday afternoon.

I think the front-court you see could be good; maybe not as good as you imagine, but good. Playoff good? probably not; play-in good, sure. You already know how I feel: any minutes for Ayton is Portland being worse than it could be. Grant? He doesn't bother me near as much as Simons and Ayton. Yeah, his contract sucks, but a Grant that buys into a supporting role would be a nice player

so sure...Avdija/Camara/Grant + Clingan has potential to be solid. A healthy Timelord would help a lot, but I think that's a fictional character

now, I'm not one who sees Avdija as being a certain all-star. Maybe he could be. But I think his ceiling is as a 3rd, possibly 2nd option.

so the Blazers would still be needing a Batman. I don't think they have even a Robin in either Sharpe/Scoot. Maybe a light will go off over Sharpe and he ascends. But odds are that would have happened last season if the light is actually in his toolbox. Scoot I'm not sold on at all at this stage

so, to me, the pursuit of playoffs is kind of pointless unless the Blazers can find that Batman. It will just be back to the Dame era mediocrity, only without a Dame. Better supporting cast but no star to support

I know it sure looks like Cronin wants to go all in on the current roster. I think it would be a big mistake but I'm not in charge...and maybe I'm seriously underrating the cast. I will say if Simons/Ayton/Grant are still on the team next season, Billups will start all 3, and one of Avdija/Sharpe will join Clingan and Scoot on the bench

You know we're in the same boat. I thought I'd try on another viewpoint and see where it went.

The idea of Deni getting benched is both hilarious and depressingly believable.

[Walton1one]

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And here is how POR peels off JSJ for a vet or 2, plus future pick (29’ worst)?