Portland Trail Blazers: The balancing act between now and later
Chris Phillips
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Cronin’s Master plan in action
Cronin made two moves that balance each other out. The Grant trade is for now, while selecting Sharpe is a move for the future. Now that the draft is over, we are just a few days away from the start of NBA Free Agency on June 30th. There still is the question of will the Portland Trail Blazers will re-sign Jusuf Nurkic.
Personally, I think the Blazers should try to acquire either Deandre Ayton or John Collins, as both players are still young and come with some NBA experience. Both players fit into Cronin’s plan of acquiring talent that can help both now and in the future.
Previously I wrote about the Portland Trail Blazers trading for Myles Turner. But from what I’m hearing out of Indiana, the Pacers want to see how Turner plays with their latest collection of talent before they trade him. So, Portland would have to make a Godfather offer to acquire Turner, which would go against Cronin’s plan.
At this point, it’s hard to know the price tag to land Collins or Ayton. However, those moves should be plans A and B. If they don’t work, then Nurkic is plan C. Re-signing Nurkic is the move I suspect the Blazers will make. He’s familiar with the organization, the coaching staff, playing style, and players.
So, if the only move the Portland Trail Blazers make in free agency is bringing back Nurkic, I would consider the moves Cronin has made, dating back to last season’s trade deadline, a big success. Do these moves mean the Blazers are title contenders? No. But seeing them make a run in the playoffs wouldn’t shock me either.
Let’s get to work, @ShaedonSharpe ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/dtFE4jvRdA
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 24, 2022
The team has talent and now appears to have some much better depth as well. Can we get to Summer League games already, so we can all see Sharpe playing a basketball game for the first time in over a year!
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