When former Portland Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey was fired from his post in early December 2021, Joe Cronin was promoted to the position from his job as director of player personnel. On Tuesday, the Trail Blazers announced that Cronin’s GM title is now set.
“Joe has shown in his short time as interim GM that he is more than ready to continue leading the front office,” Portland Trail Blazers chair Jody Allen said. “We remain excited for the future of Trail Blazers basketball with Joe and (head coach Chauncey Billups) driving a cohesive plan to build an even more competitive and winning roster.”
“I would like to thank Jody and (vice chair Bert Kolde) for this opportunity and a long list of other incredible people that have put their faith and trust in me not only over the last six months, but the last 16 years,” Cronin added. “My focus has always been creating a championship team and culture that players, coaches, and staff want to be a part of. I look forward to continuing that focus with the vision that Chauncey, (president of business operations Dewayne Hankins), and I share while unifying our business and basketball operations on and off the court.”
Cronin joined the Trail Blazers in 2006 as a basketball operations intern and was promoted to pro scout/salary cap analyst in 2010. He was named the team’s director of player personnel in 2014.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Cronin takes over at a “crucial time for the Blazers” as they enter the offseason with a top-10 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, a $21 million trade exception and the “ability to extend” All-Star Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little. Portland finished the 2021-2022 campaign at 27-55 and missed the postseason for the first time since 2013, Lillard’s rookie season.
The Trail Blazers have the sixth-best odds to move up to the No. 1 pick in the draft. The draft lottery is May 17 in Chicago.
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