Portland Trail Blazers interim general manager Joe Cronin has been around the NBA long enough to know how things work. He’s also realistic about the Blazers current situation and why rival GM’s are calling.
“They smell blood in the water,” said Cronin.
Despite his interim tag, Cronin has been given the approval to make roster changes for Portland. He said that’s what he’s looking to do, but don’t look for him to kick off a full-scale rebuild.
“The organization wants to win,” Cronin said. “There are times when you have to take a step back in order to make a step forward, and we are not convinced that this is that time yet. Our approach today is not a re-tool or a rebuild. It’s an enhance. We haven’t discussed one time about taking a step back.”
Cronin indicated that he’ll soon have a conversation with Trail Blazers chair Jody Allen about paying the luxury tax. Cronin said he hasn’t been given a mandate to cut salary to get Portland out of the tax. Instead, Cronin plans to prime Allen with the pros and cons of avoiding the tax this season.
