Trail Blazers rumors: Phil Knight, Dyson Daniels, Deandre Ayton, etc.

Portland Trail Blazers hire NBA Draft analyst Mike Schmitz

Joe Cronin has made a flurry of hires and surrounded himself with a handpicked cabinet to aid him in his new permanent responsibilities as general manager. So far, Cronin has brought along three new assistants to join him in the front office.

Andrae Patterson from the Cleveland Cavaliers was his first hire. Patterson had been with Cleveland since 2017, most recently serving as Senior Director of Basketball Operations. Before working with the Cavs, he spent time as a player in college, the NBA, and internationally, spent time in upper management and as a coach at the University of Texas Arlington, was an assistant coach in the G-League with the Idaho Stampede, and spent two years in the front office with the Utah Jazz.

Cronin’s latest hire, Sergi Oliva, spent time with the Philadelphia 76ers in the waning days of “The Process” and was also recently with the Utah Jazz, including as an assistant on Quin Snyder’s bench. Both of these hires made the Blazers younger and more analytical in the front office. Cronin’s admittance to his own lack of experience and willingness to address that weakness is an encouraging sign.

His decision to bring on former ESPN Draft Analyst Mike Schmitz was the most publicized front-office hiring, not just within the Portland Trail Blazers organization but in the NBA in general in a long time. Schmitz’s journey from NBA blogger to ESPN analyst to assistant general manager will be a success story for freelance writers and draft pundits for years to come.

As far as how his hiring could impact the Blazers, there are plenty of juicy clues for those willing to do the digging — as I am. Shortly before being hired by the Trail Blazers, Schmitz and his longtime partner Jonathan Givony published an article on ESPN titled, The four players who could break up the 2022 NBA draft’s Big Three.

In it, Schmitz and Givony identify the players they deemed to have the best chance at overtaking one or more of Auburn’s Jabari Smith Jr., Duke’s Paolo Banchero, and Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren and either becoming a top-three pick in the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft or a more impactful talent down the road: Jaden Ivey, Shaedon Sharpe, Keegan Murray, and Dyson Daniels.

This is notable considering that the Blazers hold the seventh pick and the guaranteed chance to acquire one of these four players — unless one of Jabari, Paolo, or Chet falls to seven which would be incredible for so many different reasons.

The fact that the Blazers hired a draft expert who recently suggested that the top tier in this upcoming draft includes seven players gives me the impression that Portland will hold onto that selection. Of the players that Schmitz and Givony named, Dyson Daniels is the most likely to still be available when the Blazers are on the clock. He also happened to be among the first group of players that Portland hosted for a workout. Now I’m not saying that Daniels to the Blazers is a done deal, but I would definitely start watching his highlights.