For The First Time Since Damian Lillard's Trade Demand We Finally Heard From Blazers GM Joe Cronin And It Sounds Like We Aren't Even Close To A Resolution

Maddie Meyer. Getty Images.

Ever since Dame officially demanded his trade, all we've really had was speculation and posturing. The Heat and Pat Riley do their thing and leak to reporters how awesome their package is and how the Blazers will trade them Dame if they know what's good for them or they'll have a big problem on their hands. The Blazers in turn hit up Woj to get the team narrative out there and around and around we've gone.

What we hadn't had is an opportunity for Blazers GM Joe Cronin to sit in front of a mic and actually answer questions about this whole thing. 

Today we did, so let's dive in

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Well this sounds like things are going smoothly! I don't think it's all that weird that the team and Dame haven't talked since he demanded out because what's there to even say? It's pretty clear Dame isn't changing his mind of where he wants to go or even having a complete change of heart about the whole thing, so that's not surprising.

The part that is suprising is that even after these last few weeks there still isn't any meaningful movement on trade talks. Now, maybe that's bullshit and an attempt to squeeze more out of MIA, or maybe this is the Blazers saying to all other teams that they are still very much open for business and to bring their best offer. 

This is your classic GM "it takes two to tango" spinzone. I know this because I heard if from Danny Ainge for like 20 years. Sure the Blazers would have made trades to convince Dame to stay if they existed, but they didn't. The problem here is he's asking fans who are already mad at this guy to trust him. Were these win now players not available or were they not available based on what the Blazers were willing to give up? Those are two very different things. 

Were they down the overpay if it meant bringing in that win now player? Did it just not matter what they offered? I'm not sure that would make me feel better as a Blazers fan just to hear you "tried".

Well yeah, he told you to flip the #3 pick for a win now guy and you didn't. Instead, you doubled down on the youth movement. In today's NBA, that's pretty much the exact opposite of a win now strategy.

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I read this as

"Please, anyone, come to us with any sort of offer that's better than MIA's, we literally do not care what it is".

This is basically the crux of the entire issue. Heat fans will tell you that the Blazers don't need to care about their future, they need to just give Dame what he wants even if it means taking 40 cents on the dollar. Meanwhile, since Dame came to them and said this is business and isn't personal, it's totally acceptable for them to treat it as a business and do what they can to set themselves up for a post Dame world.

Who's right? I guess that depends on who your favorite team is. As the GM, you only get one shot to move a franchise star like this, so you could make the case this trade could very well seal his fate as the guy calling the shots. 

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What I think gets overplayed is this idea that however the Blazers handle Dame's request is going to impact them years down the road whether that's with free agents or their own young talent. I'm sorry, but on what planet? All those free agents that weren't going to POR are suddenly not going to go to POR if they don't give Dame what he wants?

Someone like Scoot is going to turn down his max extension in 8 years because of what happened with Dame in 2023? I'm not sure I buy any of that

Oh dear god, no. This is what I feared. I'm not sure I can do months and months of Dame trade drama/reports/rumors. I understand being patient, but let's not get crazy. We're all sick of it and it's only been like two weeks. 

But like we saw with Ben Simmons and James Harden, sometimes being patient pays off.

You know who doesn't believe this? Damian Lillard.

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Hey! Some accountability! You don't often hear that from GMs in this spot so that's refreshing to hear. Cronin could have easily lied here, but everyone would have been able to see through it. Not that it matters now, but at least they could stop that whole charade and actually tell the truth.

So what did we learn? The only thing of substance from where I sit is that the Blazers are still very much open for business and are doing everything they can to not bend the knee to Pat Riley. Maybe that's how all this ends anyway, but you can't fault the guy for trying. That and it doesn't feel like this is going to be ironed out anytime soon. That's a tad exhausting because it just means we're about to get more updates that aren't really updates. I always thought that if Dame ever did demand a trade it would mean the drama and bullshit would no longer exist, but honestly, this might be worse than the will he/won't he demand a trade stuff.