Joe Cronin Articles - Page 2

Damian Lillard’s pointed demands for an improved supporting cast have still yet to be addressed. It has been almost a year since the most loyal superstar in basketball threatened to leave Rip City, and all the Portland Trail Blazers have to show for it is the mere possibility of finally meeting his mandate. CJ McCollum […]

At least the Portland Trail Blazers tanked their way into a silver lining from one of the most disappointing seasons in team history. Even if the New Orleans Pelicans make the playoffs, delaying their biggest prize from the C.J. McCollum trade until 2025, the Blazers’ brazen efforts to lose under interim general manager Joe Cronin […]

The last time Anfernee Simons took the floor was the last time the Portland Trail Blazers actually looked like they belong in the NBA. That’s not a criticism of the second-round picks, undrafted free agents and G-League call-ups who have comprised Portland’s woefully depleted roster over the last few days, or even an aspersion on […]

Officially, the Portland Trail Blazers are still leaving the door open for Damian Lillard to return before season’s end. The team announced late last month that Lillard had passed the “initial phase” of rehabilitation from mid-January surgery on his abdomen, and would soon begin the “reconditioning phase” of his recovery. The first week of March […]

So much for consternation over a wholly transformative trade deadline. Instead of reeling from finally breaking up its longtime core, the Portland Trail Blazers entered the All-Star break winners of four straight games, playing with activity and intensity that had often been absent during Chauncey Billups’ inaugural season on the sidelines. The Blazers can’t count […]

The Portland Trail Blazers’ abrupt recent turn in short-term priorities and team-building philosophy had already cast more doubt on the possibility of Damian Lillard returning this season. After his steam stood pat on Thursday at an otherwise wild trade deadline, the slim chances of Lillard coming back in 2021-22 effectively vanished altogether. During a post-deadline […]

The Portland Trail Blazers’ primary goal in Friday’s shocking trade with the LA Clippers was saving money. They not only ducked below the luxury tax this season, making the franchise and billionaire owner Jody Allen subject to the most lucrative distribution of tax penalties in league history, but also shaved considerable money off their books […]

So much for the Portland Trail Blazers’ midseason momentum amid Damian Lillard’s indefinite absence. After going 7-4 once the eight-time All-Star was sidelined come the New Year, the Blazers have lost five of their last six games, trudging toward next week’s trade deadline in just as disappointing a position as they were a month ago. […]

The Portland Trail Blazers just missed out on the first winning month of 2021-22, finishing January an even 8-8 after losing back-to-back games to the Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this week. Unfortunately, the reinforcements needed for Portland to finish above .500 in at least one of the season’s last three months don’t […]

Damian Lillard isn’t going anywhere. But as the February 10th trade deadline fast approaches, the prevailing assumption had been that the Portland Trail Blazers would actively seek deals for pretty much any other player on the roster—especially the veterans that have long comprised this team’s core. Don’t tell that to Jusuf Nurkic, though. In a […]

The Portland Trail Blazers have made their first move in wake of a surgery that could leave Damian Lillard sidelined for the season’s remainder. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Blazers have hired Cleveland Cavaliers executive Andrae Patterson as the team’s new assistant general manager. ESPN Sources: Portland’s interim GM Joe Cronin is making his […]

Joe Cronin made it abundantly clear on Thursday during his introductory press conference as the team’s interim general manager: Changes are coming for the Portland Trail Blazers, likely sooner than later. Players who signed new contracts in free agency become eligible to be traded on December 15th. The deadline for in-season trades comes and goes […]

The Portland Trail Blazers held a news conference on Thursday morning introducing longtime front-office executive Joe Cronin as the team’s interim general manager. Sitting next to Chauncey Billups and newly-minuted team president Dewayne Hankins, Cronin answered questions about the Blazers’ uncertain present and future with thoughtfulness, candor and humility that’s long been missing from the […]

Damian Lillard has never made a secret of and has no reason to apologize for a looming desire to maximize his earnings to their utmost extent before his playing days are finished. Despite increasingly massive annual salaries, all superstars with crossover appeal who single-handedly drive sustained team success are underpaid relative to the revenue they […]