Blazers GM Admits Team is Likely 'Not Going to Win at the Level We Need to' This Year

At least Portland knows it's bad.

Dec 29, 2023; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (00), right, reacts with teammates, from left, guard Shaedon Sharpe (17), forward Ish Wainright (23), and center Deandre Ayton (2) after a play during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers concluded their doomed 2023-24 season with a dismal 21-61 finish, but somehow only nabbed the No. 7 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. That said, in a draft expected to be light on All-Star talent but potentially deep on role players, Portland seems to have equipped itself well, selecting a talented young center, former Connecticut Huskies two-time NCAA champ Donovan Clingan.

Portland is aware that, barring astronomic leaps from 21-year-old shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe or 20-year-old second-year point guard Scoot Henderson (or an All-Star-caliber debut from Clingan), the team is presumably destined for a fourth straight year of tanking under head coach Chauncey Billups.

Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin, to his credit, was pulling no punches about this very fact during Portand's Media Day activities on Monday.

"Until those guys take steps and start playing winning basketball, we’re not going to win at the level we need to,” Cronin said, per Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “So, part of it’s up to them. When will you guys be ready? When will you take these next steps, and when can you really impact the game instead of just showing flashes or have a good five-game run.”

To Cronin's thinking, Portland's blockbuster trades of longtime starters Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic (plus temporary asset Jrue Holiday) late into the 2023 offseason led to a somewhat shaky start to training camp and the 2023-24 regular season. Though Portland did make a big move this summer, flipping former 2023 Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon, two future first round picks and some second round equity to the Washington Wizards in exchange for anticipated starting small forward Deni Avdija, that business happened even before the draft. The rest of the team, meanwhile, is more or less unchanged. That continuity could help the Trail Blazers improve internally, at least a bit.

“One thing we’re really hoping to find this year, throughout this season, and definitely by the end of it, is more clarity,” Cronin added. “Last year, I don’t know how much clarity we walked away with. We saw flashes and capabilities, but we didn’t see sustained production or sustained cohesion. And I think this year, we need to build on that. We need to have a better feel and understanding of what we are, what moves we need to make, what additions we need to have, what’s going really well. We need just more focus on what our long-term outlook is going to look like.”

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