General manager Joe Cronin recently earned himself an extension after the Portland Trail Blazers' impressive 36-46 season, but was it justified? Time will tell.
So far, he's done a solid job of navigating their rebuild following Damian Lillard's trade request. However, his preference for acquiring players over draft capital could limit their ceiling and risk long-term purgatory.
Unfortunately, that's a position Blazers fans know all too well. Portland experienced regular-season success with Lillard, but it was clear they didn't have a working formula for a clear path to contention. That's something they'll hope to learn from this time around.
For better or worse, the Blazers' rebuild is unconventional
The Blazers could make a playoff push as soon as next season, largely thanks to Cronin's past trades to acquire Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara. His rebuilding approach is unconventional because he values more established players over picks, or in other words, proven assets over speculative ones.
The Lillard deal looks better by the day after Camara's breakout season and Milwaukee's downfall. Still, it does show a pattern of Cronin acquiring players like Deandre Ayton or flipping Jrue Holiday for Robert Williams III and Malcolm Brogdon.
Prioritizing these proven players over maximizing your opportunities to gamble on draft picks limits Portland's ceiling, as they don't have as much of a pathway to acquire the star talent needed to reach a championship ceiling.
Milwaukee's draft capital may lead to that through the picks/swaps themselves or a blockbuster trade to cash them in. But for a rebuilding team, the Blazers don't have a clear-cut star to build around or a stockpile of draft picks.
Unfortunately, the Blazers are also in the Western Conference and need to compete with the young cores of the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and Houston Rockets for the next decade, which already puts them at a significant disadvantage in terms of star power. The Blazers would be wise to remain in this rebuilding phase until they have that type of asset that is worth accelerating the timeline for, similar to what San Antonio did with Victor Wembanyama.
Trying to make the playoffs this early puts pressure on the Blazers' existing core -- one that has question marks, as Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Donovan Clingan weren't able to carve out a starting role this season.
The past four NBA champions (Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, and Bucks) all drafted the superstar talent that carried them. Do the Blazers have that currently on their roster? Odds are, they do not.
The Blazers are at a crossroads this summer; their young core is arguably more talented than their veterans, but their veterans are decreasing in trade value. If they want to acquire significant draft capital, their best bet could be to trade Anfernee Simons.
However, this issue is much larger than one specific trade one summer -- it's a tendency that Cronin needs to reconsider overall. Otherwise, the Blazers are going nowhere fast.