The Portland Trail Blazers have been one of the most talked-about teams leading up to the 2023 NBA Draft.

There were questions surrounding Damian Lillard on whether they would trade their third-overall selection to find him some veteran help. Instead, the team opted to take Scoot Henderson with the pick despite some positional redundancy with Lillard and Anfernee Simons on the roster.

Blazers GM Joe Cronin was asked about the decision, which added another 6'2″ point guard onto their roster. The decision ultimately went with what gave Portland the most value, via team beat reporter Sean Highkin:

“The goal post-lottery was to see what the value of this pick was. … The list gets pretty small pretty quickly of who's available, who's a good fit, on a terrific contract. … We opted to go with the pick instead,” said the Blazers GM.

With a potential franchise point guard now joining the Blazers roster while their current one is still present, it certainly will raise questions about what the team's true end game is. Perhaps a Damian Lillard trade is on the horizon given the team's apparent willingness to just see what they have rather than aggressively pursue a deal.

But asked about whether the “plan” in Portland is still to build around Damian Lillard, Cronin gave a succinct response: “It is.”

Of course, he'd be hard-pressed to give any other answer while Lillard is on the roster. We've seen quick pivots in a matter of days, such as when Jordan Poole was traded away by Golden State just days after new Warriors head honcho Mike Dunleavy Jr. promised they'd keep him for years.