Portland Trail Blazers, Joe Cronin hire Andrae Patterson as assistant GM

The Portland Trail Blazers have hired Andrae Patterson as Assistant General Manager.

This might come as a surprise to most fans, as the current front office is still unknown with many questions unanswered, mainly who will be the permanent General Manager with Interim Joe Cronin still carrying the temporary tag.

Cronin being able to spearhead this front office move may be an indicator that he’s a favorite for the permanent job, though.

Portland Trail Blazers name Andrae Patterson as Assistant General Manager

So who is Andrae Patterson? Prior to joining the Blazers, Patterson was the Director of Basketball Operations for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Before Cleveland, he held a role with the Utah Jazz as their Player Personnel/Player Programs Coordinator. He also was an assistant coach on the bench at the University of Texas Arlington Mavericks (2012-2014), and the Idaho Stampede, formerly of the NBA G-League (2014-2015). He was drafted 46th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1998 draft, played in the NBA from 1998-2001, and continued his basketball career overseas until 2009.

Before the Blazers hired Patterson, Bill Branch and Steve Rosenberry served as Portland’s Assistant General Managers under former President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Neil Olshey. There is no word if Branch and Rosenberry will remain with the team going into the future. Although, they are still listed on the team’s staff directory.

With the hiring of Patterson and Cronin announcing and commenting on this hire, could this signal Cronin getting the interim removed from his title soon?

Portland forward/center Larry Nance Jr. thinks the hiring of Patterson was a good move, tweeting,

"“Andrae is one of the best people I’ve met in this league! Thrilled to welcome him to Portland.”"

Whoever is the permanent General Manager, be it Cronin or another candidate, they have their work cut out for them. The trade deadline is February 10. Chances are, Patterson will be involved in some capacity with the wheeling and dealing if the team decides to shake things up.