{"id":133218,"date":"2025-04-08T10:57:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T14:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=133218"},"modified":"2025-04-08T10:57:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T14:57:19","slug":"joe-cronin-blazers-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/08\/joe-cronin-blazers-extension\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Joe Cronin Has a Lot to Prove After His Blazers Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Now that general manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/44574802\/sources-trail-blazers-gm-joe-cronin-reach-multiyear-extension\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joe Cronin<\/a> has signed a multi-year extension with the Portland Trail Blazers, he must keep working. The Portland rebuild is still in progress, but he has to improve the team and build a contender. With many moves in the market available, Cronin has his work cut out for him in the offseason.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Joe Cronin Has a Lot to Prove After His Blazers Extension<\/h2>\n<p>Joe Cronin has been the Blazers&#8217; GM since taking over on an interim basis in December 2021. Since he started the job, Cronin has built toward a bright future centered on young talent. This led to him trading franchise icons <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damian Lillard<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mccolcj01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CJ McCollum<\/a>, but there is clear progress.<\/p>\n<p>With NBA Draft selections like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hendesc01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scoot Henderson<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sharpsh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shaedon Sharpe<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/clingdo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Donovan Clingan<\/a>, Cronin deserves credit. However, he must surpass everything he has done after signing his Blazers extension. Portland&#8217;s rebuild has expectations now after an impressive 2024-25 season, so Cronin must capitalize.<\/p>\n<h3>The Trail Blazers Have A Promising Roster<\/h3>\n<p>The Blazers have a promising roster. Cronin has done a stellar job leading the Portland rebuild through fantastic draft selections. He has also been the figurehead behind trades for players like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/camarto01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Toumani Camara<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/avdijde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Deni Avdija<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Both wings have become Portland&#8217;s building blocks. Camara has <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/23\/toumani-camara-developing-hidden-gem\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">become a defensive titan<\/a> and Avdija is <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/22\/deni-avdija-all-star-leap\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">playing like a borderline All-Star<\/a>. Combining their strengths with the young core, the Blazers must capitalize on their potential.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"sl\" dir=\"ltr\">TOUMANI CAMARA. DENI AVDIJA. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DIiueTgglB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/DIiueTgglB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/trailblazers\/status\/1852548773823819815?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Trail Blazers hope for another high pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Getting a ready-made superstar like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/cooper-flagg-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cooper Flagg<\/a> could complete the rebuild, but the odds are not in their favor. Portland is outside the play-in tournament, as they only have the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tankathon.com\/pick_odds\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ninth-highest lottery odds<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Cronin Must Deliver On His Promises<\/h3>\n<p>The Blazers&#8217; 2023 offseason still left a sour taste in some people&#8217;s mouths. After promising Lillard the organization would do its best to help him win a championship in Portland, they picked Henderson. Selecting a promising point guard when they had a franchise legend playing the position was peculiar. When Lillard realized it was over, he requested a trade.<\/p>\n<p>Cronin was one of the primary reasons behind Dame&#8217;s exit, so Joe has plenty to prove with this extension. He has been solid with his draft selections, but his trades are a mixed bag. He could pull off some absolute steals like with Camara and Avdija. However, there are still some peculiar trades like sending <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/alexani01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nickeil Alexander-Walker<\/a> away in a salary dump after they landed him in the McCollum trade.<\/p>\n<p>Cronin still has plenty of potential moves due to the players on the roster. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/simonan01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anfernee Simons<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/grantje01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jerami Grant<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/williro04.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Robert Williams III<\/a> could fetch the Blazers some sizable returns. This could be a good way to commit to the Portland rebuild because it opens a pathway for younger players.<\/p>\n<h3>Portland&#8217;s Fans Are Hungry For Success<\/h3>\n<p>Trail Blazers fans were lucky to be in the Playoffs almost every year during Lillard&#8217;s stint in Portland. He was always a magnificent superstar willing to lead the team through thick and thin. It is a shame for Blazers fans to see their iconic player struggle.<\/p>\n<p>However, they must move on and look for brand-new success from the current core. Chauncey Billups&#8217; status as head coach is still up in the air, but he also deserves praise for his coaching. The players have responded well to his leadership, and have developed well.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Fan experience of a lifetime \ud83e\udd79\u2764\ufe0f <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GrFX10MUnm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/GrFX10MUnm<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/trailblazers\/status\/1883956472213803468?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Cronin has to make good moves in the market for the Blazers to succeed. They are on a rebuild but are showing signs of being a solid team. With the raw talent they possess, the Blazers will be a tough matchup for years to come. Cronin must fulfill the fans&#8217; desires because it has been too long without tangible success. Thankfully for him, he <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/20\/scoot-leap-rebuild-easier\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">already has a foundation<\/a> for a promising young team.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: \u00a9 Soobum Im-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now that general manager Joe Cronin has signed a multi-year extension with the Portland Trail Blazers, he must keep working. The Portland rebuild is still in progress, but he has to improve the team and build a contender. With many moves in the market available, Cronin has his work cut out for him in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5385,"featured_media":133230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,23],"tags":[1559,115,2831,49145,1628,4613,4702,4600,49155],"class_list":["post-133218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-trailblazers","tag-anfernee-simons","tag-chauncey-billups","tag-deni-avdija","tag-donovan-clingan","tag-jerami-grant","tag-robert-williams-iii","tag-scoot-henderson","tag-shaedon-sharpe","tag-toumani-camara"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5385"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133218"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133232,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133218\/revisions\/133232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}