Moda Center, Portland Trail Blazers.
The Portland Trail Blazers are in a very unenviable position. GM Joe Cronin needs to put together a team that is capable of winning now while star Damian Lillard is still in his prime. However, Cronin also needs to build a team that can continue to win when Anfernee Simons is the star of the franchise. In short, Cronin shouldn’t be making moves to try to win now while putting the franchise in future peril.
To date, Cronin’s doing a fair job. I’ve been critical of him in the past, but I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong. Even if it is only being partially wrong. I still think his moves at last year’s trade deadline could have been better. And when I say better, I mean get a better return of payers while also creating the available cap space.
But I’m digressing here. The Jerami Grant trade would fall more under the “win now” category. Grant is 28 years old, and his addition is more to help Lillard and Company win now. As my colleague, Andrew Elderbaum, points out, Grant’s versatility works well for the Portland Trail Blazers. I just hope this trade isn’t a repeat of the Robert Covington trade.
Now that we’ve established that Grant is a win-now move, we move on to their move that is more about future success. That would be them using the number seven overall selection in the 2022 NBA Draft on guard Shadeon Sharpe.
The Portland Trail Blazers have been down this road before when it comes to selecting a player with a potentially high ceiling but currently isn’t close to that level yet. It wasn’t all that long ago that Simons was in a similar situation. Rip City fans remember that Simons was a young kid who scouts projected had a very high ceiling in his future.
However, not everyone was convinced that he could reach his ceiling. They did agree it would take time and proper development for Simons to reach his potential. In 2021-22, they were proved right. Another example of a developmental project is Nassir Little.
Last year Blazers fans got to see the reward of that draft selection. Now, the Portland Trail Blazers are back at it again with Sharpe. Mr. YouTube is the nickname I’ve given him as the only footage of him playing can be found on YouTube.
He is another player whose range of possible outcomes is anywhere from draft bust to All-Star. If the Portland Trail Blazers can repeat their developmental success with Sharpe, then a future backcourt pairing of Simons and Sharpe will be awesome.
The 6’6”, 200-pound Canadian is listed as a shooting guard. But with his size can also play small forward. He is a long, strong, bouncy wing player who loves to attack the rim. Unfortunately, his decision-making and shooting need work, as well as his ball-handling. Regardless, he shows great promise and compares to former Portland Trail Blazers first round pick Brandon Roy.
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.
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!