During Portland Trail Blazers Media Day on Monday, general manager Joe Cronin did a good job of justifying the bold decision to acquire polarizing star guard Ja Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies.
“Straight belief in Ja more than anything," Cronin said. "The decision was based on our view of Ja as still a very high-level player and being 26 at the time of the trade, 27 going into this season. We’re very confident that Ja has a lot of good years ahead of him. I’m sure there will be questions around fit and position and all those different things, but we’re very focused and will continue to be on talent. Adding to our talent base as much as we can."
Joe Cronin continues stockpiling talent in Portland
Morant was known to be a headliner trade candidate heading into the offseason, considering the rebuilding Grizzlies had already parted ways with Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Still, it was surprising that Portland was ultimately the one to come away with Morant, considering they already had enough guards, with Damian Lillard slated to return from his torn Achilles to open up the 2026-27 season.
Logic told you it was Cronin's willingness to overlook fit for talent, knowing that, most importantly, Portland still had to bridge the star-power gap to catch up to Western Conference juggernauts like the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
I'm as skeptical as Morant fitting into this existing group as the next guy, but at least Cronin is realistic about knowing he must try something to elevate this team to be considered a genuine contender.
Cronin was asked a follow-up question clarifying what he meant by the motivation behind the trade decision. He summed it up concisely: "Elevating our overall talent to implement him into this group to make us even better.”
What gets easily lost in these trades for imperfect-fitting pieces like Morant is that it's not the final iteration of this Blazers roster.
Joe Cronin knows Ja Morant isn't the Blazers' final piece
I actually love that Cronin is self-aware enough to know they need to take these calculated risks rather than simply stay the course.
As currently constructed, is the ball-dominant, floor-shrinking, defensive liability that is Morant an ideal fit? Absolutely not.
It's honestly so bad that it could negatively affect the development of their existing young core. But if that is the case, Cronin can simply find another trade partner.
Those pessimistic about this trade tend to overlook the fact that Portland surrendered essentially nothing to land a former two-time All-Star. For years we've been asking the Blazers to add more star power to this roster, and now they have multiple former All-Stars in the backcourt: Morant, Lillard, and Holiday.
Plenty to figure out, and hard to understand how it all fits this season, sure. But this was largely going to be a transitional season anyway for the Blazers, so the last thing they wanted was to sacrifice more of their future to land a Jaylen Brown-type piece that still wouldn't propel them into contention.
Ja Morant trade was still great value for Portland
This was the buy-low trade on a disgruntled asset that new owner Tom Dundon hasn't shied away from when successfully rebuilding the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes. Morant is the first example of that approach translating to Portland.
Whether it ultimately works out in their best interest remains to be seen. Cronin will be the first to admit there are valid questions surrounding Morant's fit into a young roster that already reached the postseason without him. But to judge this trade is to impatiently not let it play out just because you can't initially see the final vision.
Cronin has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to trades, stealing wings like Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara, which have reshaped this entire rebuild.
Even if you don't fully understand the Morant deal or share Cronin's optimism about his chances of returning to form, there's no question this was good value to see if it actually comes to fruition.
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