Blazers Are Ready to Take Next Step

The Portland Trail Blazers are a rebuilding team, but the corner is beginning to turn with the franchise.

With the team hovering around the .500 mark at the midway point in the season, the Blazers can begin to look forward towards competing for more. Blazers general manager Joe Cronin explained how the team is moving forward in the next step of its evolution.

"You hope in any rebuild that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. The previous season we made some good steps that second half of the year. This year, we’ve been a little up and down. I want to see this group be at least mostly whole and show us what they’re capable of," Cronin said in an interview with Robert Ohman and Aaron Mesh of the Willamette Week.

"While we’re really optimistic about the futures of each of our guys, some of this is up to them. Like, OK, when are you going to take that next step? And we’re seeing some of them do that. We saw Deni [Avdija] take a huge step, which definitely speeds up our progress. We’ve seen Toumani [Camara] be a very, very capable starter who’s only 25. So some of this is happening in real time. We’re still learning what these guys are and where we’re headed."

Blazers Moving to Next Phase of Rebuild

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu dribbles the ball past Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Cronin recognizes that the Blazers have come a long way from where they were just a few years ago, but there's still a lot that needs to be fixed with the roster.

"I don’t know that it’s ever a finished product. The roster’s still not where it needs to be yet. I’m really happy with the steps we’re taking and where we’re headed, but we know that we’ve still got to get more talented," Cronin said via Willamette Week.

Cronin has been with the Blazers through thick and thin since 2006, when he was just an intern in the basketball operations department. He worked up the ladder for 15 years, ultimately becoming the general manager after the Neil Olshey era came to an end. Now, he hopes he will get a chance to put the finishing touches on the roster to get the Blazers to win their first championship since 1977.

"It’s very important to me. You start something, you want to finish it. I realize the league and life don’t always work that way. But my goal is just to go through this with no regrets. I’m going to work as hard as possible, I’m going to do the best job possible, and if it does ever end, I’m going to hold my head high and walk away," Cronin said via Willamette Week.