Joe Cronin Talks Trades, Coaching, Cooper Flagg

Yesterday Blazers play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Calabro sat down and talked with Portland Trail Blazers General Manager Joe Cronin as the Blazers prepared to play the Philadelphia 76ers. The nearly 18-minute interview included conversation about player development; the Rip City Remix, Blazers G-League team; the Blazers’ goals going into this year’s trade deadline; as well as Duke phenom Cooper Flagg. Here’s a synopsis of the interview:

Kevin Calabro: Give us your assessment of the ballclub, looking back over the previous 31 games.

Joe Cronin

Before the season one of the key things we wanted to do was take consistent steps. Over those first 31 [games] we saw a lot of that. Individually those are the little wins we want to make, guys getting better on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. We’ve seen that from a lot of our young guys — they’re taking steps.

Teamwise we’re seeing some of that too. [We’ve had] some great performances and some poor performances, but we continue to focus on the high stuff. We’ve had some quality wins that have been encouraging. A key thing we keep talking about is improving our consistency. I think that is still a big step we have to take.

KC: Let’s talk about Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan.

Deni is doing everything we hoped he would. His combination of size, athleticism, skillset…and grit is just a winning product. In the halfcourt [he’s a great] playmaker. He’s making shots now and getting to the rim whenever he needs to [as well as] getting to the free throw line. His passing is something special for a guy his size. He makes others better. He’s the real deal and has a really bright future.

Donovan is a paint clogger, rim protector, and rebound gobbler. There’s some offensive talent there. He’s obviously a work in progress on that end but there is talent there that can be cultivated on both ends of the floor. He’s another guy we are incredibly high on.

KC: What’s your evaluation of Scoot [Henderson]?

What is [Scoot] capable of? We’ve saw that the last two games. We really like the progress of his shot making. We’re seeing a lot more composure and purpose to his floor game. We know how electric he is with a head of steam. We seeing more and more of him learning to how to change speeds. The point guard [position] is extremely complicated in this league. We’re seeing him navigate that. Accumulatively it’s all starting to come together.

KC: What have you seen from Shaedon Sharpe so far this year?

[We’re] really happy with where he’s at. He’s taken the next step, particularly his action in ball screen. He’s becoming one of the more proficient players in pick-and-roll in the league. He’s a leader in efficiency and points-per-36-minutes in the clutch. We’re seeing that clutch gene emerge from him where he can finish games for us.

KC: What are you seeing from Chauncey and staff in developing these young guys?

Each players’ developmental path is so different. Chauncey is seeing Shaedon’s talent and trusting him which is so big. Chauncey was comfortable playing him 20 minutes a night in his rookie year. So much was learned from Shaedon’s perspective. Chauncey empowered Shaedon early which was so big. We’re seeing dividends from that now. Identifying talent is so important for a coach when trust is an important factor.

KC: Talk to us us about Shaedon and Scoot playing together.

We’re so data-driven as a league and especially Portland as an organization. The more data we get the more comfortable we get. Last year we had too many injuries, we just didn’t get enough of these guys on the floor. Shaedon just didn’t get enough minutes so our data was limited. This year it’s been a little better.

KC: Talk to us about Toumani Camara and his defensive tenacity.

We’re so happy and proud of him — where he’s come from, where he is, and where he’s headed. We’ve seen Toumani take some big steps this year. There’s so many layers to being that high-end defender and we’re seeing more and more of him taking on the biggest challenge on the floor. His offensive game is unlocking more and more. He’s getting more comfortable shooting the three-ball, playing off the move and delivering, as well as competing at the rim. I’m really happy about the steps he’s taken from college to year one [then] to year two.

KC: What about the readiness of this roster?

We’re really happy about the talent leap we’ve taken from last year to this year. We’re a lot more talented now than twelve months ago. We hope to be much more talented twelve months from now. There’s a lot of guys capable of making big plays for us.

KC: Talk about the assets you have that other teams could use as we near the trade deadline. Where are you in terms of trades?

In the state we’re in we always have to be proactive. We like to be aggressive. We always want to be active in trades and look to get better. How do we add more talent and more complimentary pieces that fit our talent? For us it’s about turning over every rock and get active. [We want to] talk to teams and listen and see what deals make sense for us.

KC: Do you feel any immediacy to make a deal before the deadline?

No I don’t. I feel immediate that I want to get better, but I’m approaching this trade deadline as I approach all trade circumstances. If it makes sense for us, we’ll look at it. We feel like we can be patient, and explore, and make good, sound decisions.

KC: How much time are you spending in Durham, NC [Scouting Cooper Flagg]?

We spend time everywhere! Our scouts are out hitting the circuit hard. There out watching games and trying to find us the next Trail Blazers.

KC: Would it be correct to assess that you’d like to see more close games?

Definitely consistency, from individuals and the team. Individually we’ve shown what we’re capable of. [Now] how do we do it more often? Teamwise we’ve shown what we’re capable of with some quality wins. How do we sustain that? That’s a natural step for a team like ours.

KC: How important has it been to have the Remix here in town?

It’s critical. Player development is arguably the more important thing we do in this league. How do we help these super talented guys get better? I don’t know that there is a better vehicle than the G-League to do that. A lot of the growth we’ve seen from Rupert and Murray was obtained in the G-League last year.

KC: [I’m sure] it was exciting for you to see Greg Oden come into the building.

My internship here was Greg’s first year with us. I saw him from day one. It was so great to see him come back and connect with us and with the city. That’s something we’re trying to do a lot better job of. [We want] to bring more and more players around. It’s not only great for us but great for them.