I spoke with Joe Cronin about the ambiguities of this struggling club that all of a sudden can’t stop winning before one of the Portland Trail Blazers’ defining victories. It was an unexpected, ridiculous, and, yes, exciting run of success.
As hopes of winning the lottery and drafting Cooper Flagg fade, is the general manager driven to put an end to it?
He assured me that he would not compromise our progress in order to lose games.
That’s reasonable. Even admirable.
The Blazers’ inability to win or lose games based on their progress is currently the issue. To win ball games, they are actually compromising their growth.
As a result, every Jerami Grantdunk makes me cringe.
Every time Anfernee Simons makes a three-pointer, I sigh.
And every time Deandre Ayton double-doubles, I moan.
Apart from the nice dopamine rush of triumph, what’s it all for?
In what was arguably the most impressive performance of the season, the Blazers hung on to defeat the Phoenix Suns 121-119 in overtime on Monday. They defeated a Suns squad that included Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant for the second straight game.
To guarantee the victory, Ayton, Simons, and Grant played every minute of overtime. In the 50-minute match, Ayton and Simons each played 42 minutes. 41 was played by Grant. All 14 of the Blazers’ points in overtime came from the trio.
Shaedon Sharpe, on the other hand, played just 19 minutes and did not play at all after the fourth quarter’s 5:49 mark.
In his 22 minutes, Scoot Henderson outpaced Simons, scoring 15 points and dishing out six assists (Simons only made 4 of 16 shots for 13 points). However, after checking out with 2:31 remaining in the fourth quarter, Henderson only managed to register 32 seconds over three shifts.
Ayton continued to dominate, scoring a scorching 25 points and pulling down 20 rebounds, while Donovan Clingan played just 10 minutes.
It was a thrilling triumph. However, it wasn’t progress.
I am aware that the Blazers may be displaying their veterans in an attempt to facilitate a trade that would remove one or more of the out-of-place veterans from Portland, and that the trade deadline is less than two days away.
However, if that is the objective, why aren’t the Blazers also showing Robert Williams III, their most tradeable veteran? Shouldn’t the Blazers try to prove that Williams can stay on the court, especially if Cronin is adamant about getting a first-round draft pick at a cost that other teams in the league consider excessive?
The inconsistencies indicate a lack of unity and organizational coherence that is just unsustainable in a franchise that is rebuilding.
Additionally, the Blazers want to keep their tank.
The Blazers had no intention of being one of the poorest teams in the league this season. That was the objective, strategy, and plan. However, they didn’t want to completely embarrass themselves since the previous season had two of the three 60-point defeats the team has ever experienced.
As a result, Cronin assembled a lineup that was merely capable of competing when inspired (see: Deni Avdija).
To win, Chauncey Billupsis is coaching.
The Blazers’ fourth-year coach’s contract is about to expire. Although the Blazers have a club option for the upcoming campaign, it is uncommon for an NBA coach to return for his option year without some additional protection.
He is aware that the greatest way for him to demonstrate to the NBA his coaching prowess is by riding his experienced, done-that veterans. And it’s functioning.
I don’t even blame him for coaching for his next job instead of his current one.
The Blazers and Billups seemed to be at a breaking point last summer because of this, but the front office—and maybe the ownership—were not prepared to deal with the underlying problem.
I therefore implore the Blazers to either sign Billups or let him go and find a replacement who will be a long-term member of the team’s future players. On Monday night, the Blazers could have accepted the outcome and allowed Henderson and Sharpe to play the final two minutes of regulation with Avdija and Tomani Camaraon.
Clingan might have been thrown into the flames. As long as the young guys are the ones driving it, winning is fantastic.
Naturally, there are now several types of developments. Indeed, there may be repercussions if young players are allowed to make mistakes.
There’s little doubt that whatever the Blazers are doing behind the scenes is effective. Over the past month, Henderson has improved significantly, especially in his three-point shooting. Prior to Tuesday’s game against Indiana, he had made 46.2% of his three-point attempts in his previous 12 games.
Even while Thompson scores higher on the intangible eye test, his numbers since Christmas are comparable to those of Amen Thompson, the rising second-year Houston guard who was selected one position after Henderson in the 2023 selection.
Henderson, Sharpe, and Clingan are being developed piece by piece by the Blazers, and with the tough love that has accompanied Sharpe’s benching, their replacements are restricting the team’s future by leading them to eight victories in their previous nine games.
There are other ways to succeed in the NBA besides winning the lottery, and putting too much money into that technique is also risky. The Blazers will have plenty of salary room available in the summer of 2026 when Ayton, Simons, and Williams are expected to leave the team, even if they don’t make any moves by Thursday’s deadline.
That is valuable in and of itself.
After the deadline, though, what will the Blazers do? Will their young core have fewer opportunities if they continue to rely on their veterans to make a remote run at the play-in?
Or will they reverse the plan and allow the children to play in the hopes of winning some ping-pong balls in an even less likely lottery push?
The Blazers created this untenable situation, which has already demonstrated that not everyone places a high value on development.
–Bill Oramis, The Oregonian/OregonLive’s sports columnist.
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