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Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin on Damian Lillard trade: ‘I do feel like I failed Dame’

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Updated11 Jul 2023

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Portland Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin on Damian Lillard trade I do feel like I failed Dame

Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin believes he could have built a winning team around Damian Lillard, and now the NBA executive feels a trade is inevitable for the seven-time All-Star.

“I don’t feel like I did everything because I wasn’t able to get it done, what we had hoped to get done,” Cronin told reporters on Monday in Las Vegas during the NBA Summer League.

“That effort being there, which it was, that’s one thing, but actually following through and getting the result is a whole other thing. And to that extent, I do feel like I failed Dame. … If [a trade] takes months, it takes months.”

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The Portland Trail Blazers are reportedly seeking four first-round draft picks and two quality players in a Damian Lillard trade. In June, the 11-year veteran made it clear that he prefers to play for the Miami Heat. However, the only way it seems this deal will manifest is if it’s a three-team trade.

“[Agent Spencer] Goodwin added that in no way does he expect the Blazers to accept a marginal return for Lillard,” wrote Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “But at this point, the Blazers must be proactive in reaching a deal with Miami because he doesn’t believe other teams will pursue Lillard.”

Portland Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin feels like he failed Damian Lillard, will remain patient for a potential trade this offseason

Will a trade occur soon? “I don’t think another team would do a deal like that knowing everything that’s going on,” Goodwin said. “But if they do, then they don’t know Dame.” The Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and New Orleans Pelicans are also among the teams interested in trading for Lillard.

Last Tuesday, Joe Cronin turned down Miami’s trade proposal involving Tyler Herro and multiple draft picks. “Portland is ‘not impressed’ with the Heat’s trade offer for Damian Lillard, which could lead to a deal elsewhere now,” said ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.


One has to wonder if the CJ McCollum trade in February 2022 irked Lillard. While Portland finished 27-55 and 13th in the Western Conference that season, the team’s struggles were mostly because of Lillard’s abdominal injury. With McCollum, the Trail Blazers made it as far as the WFC in 2019. Instead of addition by subtraction, it was just subtraction.

In 58 starts with the Trail Blazers in the 2022-23 season, Lillard averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game, along with 4.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 36.3 minutes per game. The seven-time All-NBA member shot a career-high-tying 46.3% from the floor and 37.1% from 3-point range as well.

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