Blazers GM Joe Cronin addresses coaching search, owner support

The Trail Blazers wrapped exit interviews Thursday, and general manager Joe Cronin touched on just about everything. Coaching, roster, ownership. A little bit of all of it.

On the coaching front, Cronin confirmed interim coach Tiago Splitter remains in the mix, but won’t be alone.

“Tiago is a candidate, but we’re going to talk to other candidates,” Cronin said, via Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report. “We decided early on we were going to cast a wide net.”

There has been outside chatter about cost-cutting under new owner Tom Dundon. Cronin downplayed that.

“He isn’t worried” about Dundon being willing to spend what’s necessary to hire the right coach, per Highkin.

Cronin also addressed his own job security.

“Tom is so transparent that I feel like if I was at risk, I’d probably know it,” he said.

As for the roster, the message was pretty clear. Portland needs shooting.

“The Spurs series showed us that we don’t shoot the ball well enough,” Cronin said. “We played a lot of possessions in the mud.”

That lines up with comments from Damian Lillard earlier in the press conference. Cronin added the Blazers are open to pursuing a star, but only under the right conditions.

“We’re not going to sacrifice our entire future for a short-term swing,” he said.

He declined to comment on former coach Chauncey Billups, citing the ongoing legal situation.

Overall, Cronin called it a “good season,” while acknowledging there’s still work to do.