Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishPORTLAND, Ore. — Probably no 30-something-win team celebrated itself more than the Portland Trail Blazers did last week. Contract extension for general manager Joe Cronin. Contract extension for coach Chauncey Billups. Back pats all around.But after three years of ugly and often nameless basketball, the Blazers were respectable, if not downright intriguing, this season. Portland (36-46) won 15 more games than the previous season. Deni Avdija broke out as an impact player. Toumani Camara established a league-wide reputation as an elite defender. And youngsters Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson and Donovan Clingan showed marked development.Forgive Blazers chair Jody Allen for acting like Portland was returning to the playoffs — it’s been a long, hard road of coughing through tank exhaust to get here.And where exactly are the Blazers?Ready to bust onto the scene like the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets? On the verge of the playoffs? Still a year or two away?Cronin said it’s hard to speak definitively before the offseason transaction window concludes, but he noted that Portland no longer feels desperate to land talent and instead can be more calculated in the type of player it pursues.“As a front office, we don’t feel that pressure to take swing after swing to try and hit on the next up-and-coming guy. We are starting to feel really comfortable with our talent base that we can be more diligent about adding specific types of guys.”Cronin’s extension was curious in that he has been an average drafter and poor contract manager, shortfalls that were counterbalanced by two savvy trades that likely saved his job.His star move was last summer’s trade with the Washington Wizards, which netted Avdija in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round picks. At the time, it seemed a steep price to pay for the 24-year-old Avdija, but the 6-foot-9 forward was a two-way terror this season and has one of the most team-friendly contracts in the league (three years, $39.2 million).His other job-saving trade was insisting the Suns include Camara in the Deandre Ayton deal that sent Jusuf Nurkić, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson to Phoenix. Camara, 24, led the NBA in charges taken this season and has cemented himself as one of the NBA’s emerging 3-and-D wings.Cronin has brought in talent via the draft, which he should after drafting, in order, seventh (2022), third (2023) and seventh (2024), and while each pick has shown promise, he didn’t nail each selection.Sharpe averaged a career-high 18.5 points this season and provided several highlight plays with his soaring athleticism, but it could be argued that three players who were picked after him are better: Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams and Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren.Henderson improved his shooting and decision-making while posting averages of 12.7 points and 5.1 assists. While the team says it is encouraged by his progress, he only started 10 games, and when you are picking third overall, you can’t miss. Cronin didn’t whiff, but wing Amen Thompson, who went fourth to Houston, is the superior player.And last draft, Cronin went with 7-foot-2 center Clingan at pick No. 7. After a slow start and some conditioning problems, Clingan has been a defensive force, ranking fourth overall in blocks per game and second in the NBA behind Victor Wembanyama in blocks per 36 minutes. Clingan is limited offensively, and an argument can be made that the best centers in the 2024 draft went 10th to Memphis (Zach Edey), 15th to Miami (Kel’el Ware) and 21st to New Orleans (Yves Missi).
Donovan Clingan scores an easy two points against the Warriors earlier this month. (Troy Wayrynen / Imagn Images)While Cronin hopes his high draft picks continue to develop, he will have to lug around some dead weight contracts that are so unattractive it would be hard to imagine getting a starter in return.The dead weight comes in many forms: Jerami Grant has a whopping three years and $102.6 million remaining on his contract. His third season in Portland, during which he made $29.7 million, was his worst: 14.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 36.5 percent shooting from 3-point range as he continued to have one of the cushiest jobs in professional sports. In his three seasons in Portland, Grant has not played past March 12. Some of it has been injuries, some tanking directives from the front office.Either way, that’s a month off for three straight seasons. Not a bad gig if you can get it, but for the Blazers, it spells horrible value and a hard sell to teams in the trade market.There are other anvils tied to Cronin’s ankle, but at least Ayton ($35.5 million), Anfernee Simons ($27.6 million), Robert Williams III ($13.2 million) and the player option for Matisse Thybulle ($11.5 million) are expiring. Why Williams is still on the roster is a head-scratcher. He was finally healthy at the trade deadline, when competing teams like the Los Angeles Lakers needed centers, but he wasn’t moved. The first game after the trade deadline, he reinjured his chronically hurt knee and played one game the rest of the season. Since being acquired from the Boston Celtics in the Jrue Holiday trade, Williams has played in 26 of a possible 164 games.That leads us to the second wave of news in the last week: Billups getting a contract extension. He has had a tough time winning over the fan base, but it’s hard to argue with his results. He has changed the culture of the Blazers from a soft, entitled group of youngsters who expected to play because of their contract and draft status, to a never-say-die group that gets up into opponents and defends.The Blazers over the final 40 games of the season ranked third in the NBA in defensive rating. If you remember, the Blazers for much of the last decade were one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA. Yes, Cronin has emphasized acquiring defenders like Camara, Avdija and Clingan, but Billups got guys like Henderson, Sharpe and even Simons to step up.Perhaps in a moment that will go down as saving his job, Billups said midway through the season, he laid down the law: defense, or no playing time.“We were sinking and sinking bad,” Billups said. “I was going to play the guys who will compete and play defense. If you don’t do that, I don’t care, you are not going to play. And I meant that. They felt that. And it really brought us together.”Defense has become the Blazers’ identity, but it is unclear around whom the team is being built. In the NBA, with only five starters, having a star is paramount. The Blazers lack that star. Is it Avdija? Sharpe? Henderson? Or do they need to acquire that star?“There’s a lot of talent on this roster, and I wouldn’t put ceilings on a lot of these guys,” Cronin said. “There is still a lot of time and talent that can be maximized. So these guys … I wouldn’t write them off to becoming star-level guys.”Billups agreed and pointed to the marked development the team made under his revamped coaching staff that included Nate Bjorkgren and Chris Fleming.“It’s true you need to have top-flight guys, but to me, we are raising that, we are growing that,” Billups said. “I look at Oklahoma City, they traded for Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander), but he wasn’t a star yet. Now he’s probably going to be the MVP. Joker (Nikola Jokić) wasn’t a star when he got to Denver. They raised him into that. Giannis (Antetokounmpo) wasn’t a star when he got to Milwaukee. They raised him into that. That’s where I think we are trying to go … Deni, Shaedon, Scoot, Ant … We are raising those guys.”And for the first time in four years, that didn’t sound like a sales pitch. It didn’t feel overly optimistic. It felt like reason to celebrate, even if it was only 36 wins.“We are not happy about our season ending today,” Cronin said. “We don’t want our season to end at this time next year. We need to keep moving forward.”(Top photo of Scoot Henderson, Kris Murray and Deandre Ayton: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
