This early downtime in the offseason feels like a good time to do another mailbag. The dust has settled on exit interviews and the end of the season, and we have another two weeks before the May 12 draft lottery, when we’ll find out where the Trail Blazers will be picking and predraft activities will start to ramp up.
Hey Sean would love if you could dive deeper into why the Blazers will have to chose between Murray and Walker? Watching the playoffs and it’s pretty clear the successful teams typically have two forwards they bring off the bench. If it’s a salary crunch issue wouldn’t it make sense to move off a higher paid vet like Brogdon? They also appear to play different roles. Walker as a 4/small ball big and Murray as a pure wing. To me the argument is more around Scoot Vs Ant. Ants to small to play the 2 and there isn’t a history of successful teams that start 2 small gurds, no matter what Olshey tried to say
Hey Sean! Where do things stand between the Blazera and ROOT Sports at the moment? Today’s news of the Kraken parting ways with them gives me an increased hope for watching games next season, but I’m not sure where things are since the last update. Thank you!
I’ve heard a bunch of comments along the lines of “this is what we expected” regarding the 21 win season, when I see a team that was completely decimated by injuries. That’s not to say they were supposed to be a playoff team, but when so many guys who weren’t even part of the rotation end up playing major roles in the season, it has to change how you look at the team, at least to some degree.
How do you balance having so many key players out of the lineup when looking at the final record?
Hey Sean, thanks for the great coverage this season. My question is sort of centered around the draft but is course still somewhat contingent on where they land in the lottery. Because this draft has been well documented as a less top end talent heavy draft, do you think the front office is vetting moving off there top pick for a proven commodity (assuming it lands anywhere but #1) and still selecting for best fit and taking a flyer on a guy at 14?
Do you think the FO will go all in on trading vets to prioritize development? It seems that they can squeak under the tax and max roster spots by dealing Brogdon/Matisse, 2024 picks, and/or a young forward. This would be consistent with the FO saying they want to start competing. It’ll be hard to compete if they deal Jerami and Anfernee this offseason.
Joe Cronin on more than once occasion has said that the team isn't talented enough. With the draft being one of the few tools that are under the team's control, what are the skillsets that the team needs to prioritize in order to unlock the team for future success?
Hi Sean, do you think Anfernee will have a real shot at earning the starting point guard of the future spot this upcoming season? Or is it pretty much scoot’s to lose given his age and where he was drafted. Anfernee having as much gravity as he did showed he can be special with better teammates around him to capitalize on that. Just curious if he will actually get a real shot to start alongside sharpe or if scoot is gauranteed to start
In previous columns, you’ve alluded to the team prioritizing young, current NBA players when trading vets, and potentially the GSW pick, but have not wanted to be specific about it in the past. Is it time to get more specific? Who are some young players around the league, that are mildly realistic to acquire, and the Blazers would be interested in? What’s a rough outline young players the team wants to acquire in terms, of age, contract status, current production level, skillset, and traits?
Hi Sean, had a few hypothetical "Sean Cronin" questions. If you were the GM who would you target in the draft assuming we keep our 2 lottery picks (and they stay put in current 4 & 14) and who would you target via trade/FA to optimize the roster after adding our 2 lottery picks? We're awfully guard heavy already and seems half the lottery talent in this years lesser draft pool plays G so figure we go wing or big but was wondering if you had an "ideal" off-season scenario between draft & trades/FAs.
Do you think Cronin has already made up his mind between keeping Scoot or Simons? It has to be one or the other, and he will forever be linked with Scoot, so it has to be Scoot, right?
I’m assuming he is just biding his time with Simons to get maximum return on a trade. Moving past the 2024 draft was probably a benchmark to avoid more 2024 picks a compensation, so should we expect a Simons trade no later than next year’s trade deadline?
What do we do with Tisse, Toumani, Jabari, Kris? All 4 guys at this point are defenders first and below average shooters. A lot of redundancy in play style for guys all fighting for the same minutes. What happens if one of our lottery picks is a wing that also starts fighting for these same minutes? People say we are guard heavy but we now have a weird group of upside guys at the wing.
Regarding the upcoming roster crunch you referenced recently, do you think the Sixers could be a good trade partner? They've only got one guaranteed contract headed into next season, lots of cap space, some decent draft picks, and obviously are going to need help at almost every position. Could they be a match for someone like Brogdon, Thybulle, Grant, Simons, et cetera?
Hey Sean would love if you could dive deeper into why the Blazers will have to chose between Murray and Walker? Watching the playoffs and it’s pretty clear the successful teams typically have two forwards they bring off the bench. If it’s a salary crunch issue wouldn’t it make sense to move off a higher paid vet like Brogdon? They also appear to play different roles. Walker as a 4/small ball big and Murray as a pure wing. To me the argument is more around Scoot Vs Ant. Ants to small to play the 2 and there isn’t a history of successful teams that start 2 small gurds, no matter what Olshey tried to say
Hey Sean! Where do things stand between the Blazera and ROOT Sports at the moment? Today’s news of the Kraken parting ways with them gives me an increased hope for watching games next season, but I’m not sure where things are since the last update. Thank you!
I’ve heard a bunch of comments along the lines of “this is what we expected” regarding the 21 win season, when I see a team that was completely decimated by injuries. That’s not to say they were supposed to be a playoff team, but when so many guys who weren’t even part of the rotation end up playing major roles in the season, it has to change how you look at the team, at least to some degree.
How do you balance having so many key players out of the lineup when looking at the final record?
Hey Sean, thanks for the great coverage this season. My question is sort of centered around the draft but is course still somewhat contingent on where they land in the lottery. Because this draft has been well documented as a less top end talent heavy draft, do you think the front office is vetting moving off there top pick for a proven commodity (assuming it lands anywhere but #1) and still selecting for best fit and taking a flyer on a guy at 14?
Any updates on a WNBA expansion in Portland?
Do you think the FO will go all in on trading vets to prioritize development? It seems that they can squeak under the tax and max roster spots by dealing Brogdon/Matisse, 2024 picks, and/or a young forward. This would be consistent with the FO saying they want to start competing. It’ll be hard to compete if they deal Jerami and Anfernee this offseason.
Joe Cronin on more than once occasion has said that the team isn't talented enough. With the draft being one of the few tools that are under the team's control, what are the skillsets that the team needs to prioritize in order to unlock the team for future success?
Hi Sean, do you think Anfernee will have a real shot at earning the starting point guard of the future spot this upcoming season? Or is it pretty much scoot’s to lose given his age and where he was drafted. Anfernee having as much gravity as he did showed he can be special with better teammates around him to capitalize on that. Just curious if he will actually get a real shot to start alongside sharpe or if scoot is gauranteed to start
In previous columns, you’ve alluded to the team prioritizing young, current NBA players when trading vets, and potentially the GSW pick, but have not wanted to be specific about it in the past. Is it time to get more specific? Who are some young players around the league, that are mildly realistic to acquire, and the Blazers would be interested in? What’s a rough outline young players the team wants to acquire in terms, of age, contract status, current production level, skillset, and traits?
Hi Sean, had a few hypothetical "Sean Cronin" questions. If you were the GM who would you target in the draft assuming we keep our 2 lottery picks (and they stay put in current 4 & 14) and who would you target via trade/FA to optimize the roster after adding our 2 lottery picks? We're awfully guard heavy already and seems half the lottery talent in this years lesser draft pool plays G so figure we go wing or big but was wondering if you had an "ideal" off-season scenario between draft & trades/FAs.
Do you think Cronin has already made up his mind between keeping Scoot or Simons? It has to be one or the other, and he will forever be linked with Scoot, so it has to be Scoot, right?
I’m assuming he is just biding his time with Simons to get maximum return on a trade. Moving past the 2024 draft was probably a benchmark to avoid more 2024 picks a compensation, so should we expect a Simons trade no later than next year’s trade deadline?
What do we do with Tisse, Toumani, Jabari, Kris? All 4 guys at this point are defenders first and below average shooters. A lot of redundancy in play style for guys all fighting for the same minutes. What happens if one of our lottery picks is a wing that also starts fighting for these same minutes? People say we are guard heavy but we now have a weird group of upside guys at the wing.
Regarding the upcoming roster crunch you referenced recently, do you think the Sixers could be a good trade partner? They've only got one guaranteed contract headed into next season, lots of cap space, some decent draft picks, and obviously are going to need help at almost every position. Could they be a match for someone like Brogdon, Thybulle, Grant, Simons, et cetera?
"Starting in July 2024, teams can use non-taxpayer or room mid-level and bi-annual exceptions to acquire a player via trade or waivers."
How might this new rule be put into practice this offseason, and how might it affect the Blazers?