Mike, just want to say I truly appreciate your honesty and love your podcast. Locked on Blazers is and always will be infinitely better than Rip City Wrap Up and other Danny Morang shows because you give your honest unfiltered opinion. You don’t feed us a line of BS about how we should be perfectly ok with the state of the team, Cronins moves etc. most importantly of all, you treat everyone with respect and aren’t condescending. Love your show! Pass first PG best in the biz
I listen to this whole episode Mike and my takeaway is that the Blazers either have a bad plan or no plan moving forward. As y9u said, this team is stuck being bad with vets but not rebuild bad developing their youngs. You are spot on
Cronin needs to do something to gain draft capital while moving on from at least 1 or 2 of our vets by deadline, or imo he has failed at doing what this team sso clearly needs done. Deni is our future, Grant is not. Clingan is our future, Ayton is not... Scoot needs the keys to know what we have before the draft comes..
Easier said than done. Grant is in his 30s and carries a hefty contract, while other tanking teams are also looking to dump their vets. Kyle Kuzma who is also a forward like Grant, for instance, is also on the trade market, but he is younger than Grant, and his contract is much more appealing, yet the Wizards are having difficulties receiving decent trade offers for him as well.
Good luck getting some sucker to take Ayton. The Blazers will likely have to pay to get rid of him. We basically just have to accept that he will be here for this and next season. It looks like Clingan can't handle starter minutes, so even less incentive to trade Ayton. I'd rather have RW and Duop share minutes with Clingan. (I would be happy if the team if the team traded DA for as cheap as possible. I too want him gone. Management probably wants more than that crappy 2nd tho.)
@@Matt-lu6so This is such a weird lame duck season for him. Everyone knows he ain't coming back. Billups clearly needs more time as an assistant before he gets to wear the big boy pants. Stale offense from a PG 🤦♂
Opportunity cost lost is my frustration…seems obvious that if you invest in youth, especially ones that haven’t played a ton of meaningful bball, you need them on the floor together as much as possible at hope of improving.
I won't be able to see any L.A. games because of the NBA League pass blackout, even though I live on the Big Island of Hawaii. Thousands of miles away from the California markets, ridiculous.
Maybe Joe Cronin thinks this team is just a few small adjustments away from "clicking". In his mind, Scoot and Shaedon will take a leap, and the veterans will be here to give them a talent floor to operate in. However, by the way his name is glossed over in press briefings, I don't think the organization views Anfernee Simons as being a part of this plan. I wouldn't be surprised if he is traded before the trade deadline, or over the off-season.
I'd be willing to trade for Jarace Walker like he is a top 10 pick in this year's draft; He is starting to blossom, and he's the type of player we want
You would know better than I would but I'm not sure I agree that the "we're excited to push all our chips in to make a move around Dame" was a straight up lie partially because of how unprepared Cronin seemed for the post Scoot draft press conference. To me that almost seemed that he wasn't expecting to use that draft pick. On the other hand the 2021 and 2022 trade deadline moves definitely don't signal building around vets at all so collectively I'm torn.
I have DIRECTV satellite and I have just a blazer station on channel 688 it only shows pregame the game and post game and that’s all it shows, I don’t get any other thing on that channel. Don’t even get the whatever it’s called after the game with danny & joe. I really only care for the game anyways Don’t really care about anything else because I can find it on podcast anyways and locked on Blazers..
If you have Clingan and Ayton and Reath and NONE OF THEM are multi-dimensional, then what is the point of keeping oft-injured defensive reserve? The team is years away from competing for anything useful, so why not continue to acquire assets instead of diving deeper into mediocrity?
Some Gms get it done, while others water allll expectations down sso much that no matter what happens he supposedly can do no wrong. Rebuild now means clear the runway for our young talent. Make moves which actually move the team forward in this rebuild,, or kick the can down the road while our young talent has less development in the wake of inaction
Yea waiting for trade value to go down then making transactions is the way to go. Im quickly realizing how poor we are run. Months ago was the time to make some moves.
I wish the NBA would give the small market+high income tax states a 5-10% bonus on their salary tax thresholds so that we can compete more evenly with the California/Texas/Florida teams. Its just so hard to remain competitive when you have to pay players like Jerami+Anfernee $5-6m more per year to get them to sign here. A lot of fans with myself included slightly don't realize how special Dame+Brandon+Clyde were. We will be so fortunate to have Shaedon turn out to be anywhere close to what those two guys were.
It’s a bit disrespectful to fans to approach things with patience. I was in the womb when the Blazers last won a championship and I’m 47. So eventually your fans are literally going to die before you win again.
Fan since Season 1. Just turned 69. Your concerns about fans dying before a championship team is fielded, is not one that I have not also reflected on. The history of this team is basically how can we fool the fans while we continue selling tickets and the latest moves on streaming are right in line. The Trail Blazers are second or third class all the way. "Blazervision" is far from 20/20. So sick of this low class wheeling and dealing for oatmeal.
Three seconds for a team already full of young role players is a waste of assets. We need to wait for an upside player and/or protected first. Patience might lead to expiring contracts instead of trades .
What if patience leads to three seconds for a team full of role players ... in February 2026. I am skeptical that waiting creates a better market for anyone the Blazers are hoping to move but we'll see.
Again, poor coaching will cost this team a lot of money along with a whole lot of confusion about what we have. Why are we playing vets when we already know who they are?
First time in 25 years I will not watch a Blazers Laker game. This is my choosing. In fact I am not watching anymore game till someone front he front office or vets gets moved. I will start off this year on a good note. The Billups, simons and to a degree Ayton line up has officially depleted me.
If you're buying into Cronin bullshyt, then you're part of problem. The guy is a loser, never won anything in his life. He's single handedly ruining this franchise.
Mike, just want to say I truly appreciate your honesty and love your podcast. Locked on Blazers is and always will be infinitely better than Rip City Wrap Up and other Danny Morang shows because you give your honest unfiltered opinion. You don’t feed us a line of BS about how we should be perfectly ok with the state of the team, Cronins moves etc. most importantly of all, you treat everyone with respect and aren’t condescending. Love your show! Pass first PG best in the biz
I listen to this whole episode Mike and my takeaway is that the Blazers either have a bad plan or no plan moving forward. As y9u said, this team is stuck being bad with vets but not rebuild bad developing their youngs. You are spot on
Cronin needs to do something to gain draft capital while moving on from at least 1 or 2 of our vets by deadline, or imo he has failed at doing what this team sso clearly needs done. Deni is our future, Grant is not. Clingan is our future, Ayton is not... Scoot needs the keys to know what we have before the draft comes..
Couldn’t agree more. Billups also should’ve been let go this past offseason.
Easier said than done. Grant is in his 30s and carries a hefty contract, while other tanking teams are also looking to dump their vets.
Kyle Kuzma who is also a forward like Grant, for instance, is also on the trade market, but he is younger than Grant, and his contract is much more appealing, yet the Wizards are having difficulties receiving decent trade offers for him as well.
Good luck getting some sucker to take Ayton. The Blazers will likely have to pay to get rid of him. We basically just have to accept that he will be here for this and next season. It looks like Clingan can't handle starter minutes, so even less incentive to trade Ayton. I'd rather have RW and Duop share minutes with Clingan.
(I would be happy if the team if the team traded DA for as cheap as possible. I too want him gone. Management probably wants more than that crappy 2nd tho.)
@@israteeg752 Yep. Interest in JG is just little to nonexistent given his ugly contract, combined with the Blazers wanting multiple firsts for him.
@@Matt-lu6so This is such a weird lame duck season for him. Everyone knows he ain't coming back. Billups clearly needs more time as an assistant before he gets to wear the big boy pants. Stale offense from a PG 🤦♂
Opportunity cost lost is my frustration…seems obvious that if you invest in youth, especially ones that haven’t played a ton of meaningful bball, you need them on the floor together as much as possible at hope of improving.
I won't be able to see any L.A. games because of the NBA League pass blackout, even though I live on the Big Island of Hawaii. Thousands of miles away from the California markets, ridiculous.
I despise League Pass. The only state with better weather than Cali getting shafted again.
Cronin is the king of HODLing too long and devaluing his assets
Blazers on a pathway to a mediocre team next year. They need a top 3 pick in this year's draft.
I totally agree. Commit to the rebuild and stop fiddling around.
Maybe Joe Cronin thinks this team is just a few small adjustments away from "clicking". In his mind, Scoot and Shaedon will take a leap, and the veterans will be here to give them a talent floor to operate in. However, by the way his name is glossed over in press briefings, I don't think the organization views Anfernee Simons as being a part of this plan. I wouldn't be surprised if he is traded before the trade deadline, or over the off-season.
2 moves Cronin needs to get done. 1: Jarace Walker 2: Jordan Hawkins after this go get draft capital.
I'd be willing to trade for Jarace Walker like he is a top 10 pick in this year's draft; He is starting to blossom, and he's the type of player we want
Joe needs to get is ass in gear on move to a different GM
You would know better than I would but I'm not sure I agree that the "we're excited to push all our chips in to make a move around Dame" was a straight up lie partially because of how unprepared Cronin seemed for the post Scoot draft press conference. To me that almost seemed that he wasn't expecting to use that draft pick. On the other hand the 2021 and 2022 trade deadline moves definitely don't signal building around vets at all so collectively I'm torn.
Choose your own adventure.
Patient or over valuing your trade assets.
I have DIRECTV satellite and I have just a blazer station on channel 688 it only shows pregame the game and post game and that’s all it shows, I don’t get any other thing on that channel. Don’t even get the whatever it’s called after the game with danny & joe. I really only care for the game anyways Don’t really care about anything else because I can find it on podcast anyways and locked on Blazers..
he needs to start making moves!!!! at least trade and get some number one picks for this up coming up draft!!!
how hard is it to even do that?
Mike I need to know - what is that character on your hat??
That’s Dinger, the Colorado Rockies intrepid mascot
If you have Clingan and Ayton and Reath and NONE OF THEM are multi-dimensional, then what is the point of keeping oft-injured defensive reserve? The team is years away from competing for anything useful, so why not continue to acquire assets instead of diving deeper into mediocrity?
26 to 32 negligible…?
One thing they didn't mention is Jerami Grant's contract and how he was asking for the moon for him. Now no one wants him!
Some Gms get it done, while others water allll expectations down sso much that no matter what happens he supposedly can do no wrong. Rebuild now means clear the runway for our young talent. Make moves which actually move the team forward in this rebuild,, or kick the can down the road while our young talent has less development in the wake of inaction
Beat L.A. !! Beat L.A. !!
Relax the trades take a long time effect the team in a off year.
Yea waiting for trade value to go down then making transactions is the way to go. Im quickly realizing how poor we are run. Months ago was the time to make some moves.
I bet you make the best 2k trades ever
@lopoa126 it wasn't rocket science with the CBA changing.
I wish the NBA would give the small market+high income tax states a 5-10% bonus on their salary tax thresholds so that we can compete more evenly with the California/Texas/Florida teams. Its just so hard to remain competitive when you have to pay players like Jerami+Anfernee $5-6m more per year to get them to sign here. A lot of fans with myself included slightly don't realize how special Dame+Brandon+Clyde were. We will be so fortunate to have Shaedon turn out to be anywhere close to what those two guys were.
We're waiting for Jodie Allen to sell the team. Caring about this squad is a waste of time, and poor for your health.
It’s a bit disrespectful to fans to approach things with patience. I was in the womb when the Blazers last won a championship and I’m 47. So eventually your fans are literally going to die before you win again.
Fan since Season 1. Just turned 69. Your concerns about fans dying before a championship team is fielded, is not one that I have not also reflected on. The history of this team is basically how can we fool the fans while we continue selling tickets and the latest moves on streaming are right in line. The Trail Blazers are second or third class all the way. "Blazervision" is far from 20/20. So sick of this low class wheeling and dealing for oatmeal.
Until Jody sells, I don't care.
I won’t be surprised if Deni gets traded to the Mavs (assuming they have got assets, I haven’t checked that)
Three seconds for a team already full of young role players is a waste of assets. We need to wait for an upside player and/or protected first. Patience might lead to expiring contracts instead of trades .
What if patience leads to three seconds for a team full of role players ... in February 2026. I am skeptical that waiting creates a better market for anyone the Blazers are hoping to move but we'll see.
Again, poor coaching will cost this team a lot of money along with a whole lot of confusion about what we have. Why are we playing vets when we already know who they are?
How about Ayton, Thybulle and Walker for Levine, Tory Craig and salary filler.
First time in 25 years I will not watch a Blazers Laker game. This is my choosing. In fact I am not watching anymore game till someone front he front office or vets gets moved. I will start off this year on a good note. The Billups, simons and to a degree Ayton line up has officially depleted me.
If you're buying into Cronin bullshyt, then you're part of problem. The guy is a loser, never won anything in his life. He's single handedly ruining this franchise.
i mean he wasn’t given the best hand from the mess neil left him..
@hoops_galorepdx1742 he was given a job to do and he's failed... he's the one who traded everybody for a box of animal crackers
Never won anything in his life? He's only been the GM for like 2 years.
@Formlessrecording he used to play basketball, never won anything in his life
@@IceCreamCornDawg I don’t know if judging executives on their high school’s sports program is a winning recipe.