Mateo’s Hoops Diary: In Dame deal, Cronin over his head

Jack Kent Cooke and Barbara Jean Carnegie. Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Alvarez.  Mick Taylor and The Rolling Stones. When relationships run their course, the end can be as bitter as watching a partner’s success without you. Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers are in the midst of a public divorce. We should be lucky it’s not as bad as it was for Tiger Woods, or no one has gone crazy like OJ.

Joe Cronin is that guy at the party who refuses to accept his partner (Lillard) is eyeballing the big shot in the room. Training camp is 11 days away, and Lillard keeps liking posts online thanking him for his services in Portland. Right now, it’s getting uncomfortable, but hopefully, it won’t turn toxic, but this is the NBA after all.

Friday, Cronin’s chief crony (Adrian Wojnarowski) echoed the calculated whispers fed into his shell that Portland was looking around the league for more offers and that recent chats didn’t include the Miami outfit. Comically, I heard no mention of the Heat daring them to find a better deal. History is likely repeating itself from last February when Woj insisted the Brooklyn Nets had no interest in trading Kevin Durant, only for him to pivot when he had no choice.

The reaction around the league for the KD swap was that Phoenix compensated Brooklyn fairly while getting away like John Dillinger. ESPN graded the Nets a B for the exchange, yet included this detail in its reasoning in its exclusive content: “It would be interesting to know what the Nets could have gotten from the New Orleans Pelicans and Toronto Raptors, teams with higher-upside young prospects and (in New Orleans’ case) tantalizing draft picks coming from the Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks.”

At the time of the deal, Mikal Bridges, the best player in the swap, was described as “the definitional 3-and-D archetype,” but since the trade, he has blossomed into a player on the verge of stardom.

By the way, Durant only helped the Nets win one series, tried to have the owner fire his GM and coach, and was gone midway through the first year of his four-season extension. Brooklyn got back Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Juan Pablo Valet (currently with Bàsquet Manresa), four First Round Picks, two Second Round Picks and one pick swap.  Durant is still in the top 10 in the world and likely among the greatest 25-ballers to ever touch the hardwood.

At the end of the article, there was this: “Ultimately, debating whether the Nets got enough for Durant is almost beside the point…”

Suddenly, these PR agents masquerading as analysts/reporters demand that the Trail Blazers get a war chest of picks, a star player, the rights to Michael Jackson’s master recordings and, if I hear correctly, a blood sacrifice.  Allegedly, Blazers brass wants the Heat to “scrounge” its bulletproof offer, too, but that would be an exercise in futility for Pat Riley’s team.  They won’t compete with themselves.  The adults in the room indicated the interest is there, but sloppy Joe Cronin has pigheadedly searched for a suitor that doesn’t exist beyond third-team relief.

Why should anyone else trade for Lillard? Don’t they know of the power the pissed-off star player wields and how coaches are quick to meet the proverbial guillotine? Let another team bring him in. I guarantee 30% effort on his behalf, enough to break a sweat but not nearly to win. Such a move would likely put the coach and executive’s jobs at risk for wasting everyone’s time. 

Keep in mind, one of the four pillars of South Florida media, Barry Jackson (Miami Herald), reported that Lillard would ask for a trade to Miami if dealt to another squad. 

Lillard is one of the top point guards in the league. Citing the Durant trade as the standard price on a deal is foolish.  Sub Zero (Lillard) is a Portland hero, and only Bill Walton and Clyde Drexler can say they did more for the team. But he’s never impacted winning like the Slim Reaper has. Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell did go for hauls, but spare me.  Neither should have.  The Heat are not required to jump off a cliff because Cleveland and Minnesota walked too close to the edge and tipped over.  

Woj carrying Portland’s water won’t spur irrational action by the Heat.  With the season quickly approaching, I believe it starts, and Portland, at some point, circles back to Miami because the vibes are sour due to another season of mostly losing.  Lillard will eventually turn into the malcontent who can’t be around the young players because it’s clear what he wants is the last thing they do.