Blazers’ GM Joe Cronin Hints at Trade Deadline Move…What Was It?
On Thursday, at the Blazers’ end-of-season interviews, General Manager Joe Cronin shared that he had presented a trade to the owner-in-waiting, Tom Dundon, at the trade deadline, to which Dundon gave the green light. According to Cronin, that trade would have: Launched Portland into the “Tax” close to the first apron Saved the other team a bunch of money Given Portland a “nice, young asset” Forced Dundon to write a check for $20 million because of the taxes This snippet from the end of Cronin’s press conference has me really thinking about what sort of deal he (supposedly) was close to taking but passed up on The clues are: – Would’ve sent Portland into Tax, close to first apron (~$7-8mil) – Would have saved other team “a bunch”… pic. twitter.
com/uBcCv0QTcq — Blazers Lead (@BlazersLead) May 1, 2026 Those four pieces of information are more than enough to make a guess as to who Cronin was targeting at the 2026 deadline. Based on the details Cronin shared and utilizing the internet to learn about the NBA’s luxury tax penalties, the player who would have been the centerpiece of this deal is crystal clear. Clue 1: Would Have Saved the Other Team a Bunch of Money The first thing to look at is the teams that were over the luxury tax heading into the trade deadline by more than $5 million, which would have constituted them being saved “a bunch of money” by going through with a salary-dump-style trade.
Those teams are: Magic ($5. 5 million over) Clippers ($6. 7 million) Rockets ($6.
8 million) Lakers ($6. 9 million) 76ers ($7. 0 million) Celtics ($12 million) Timberwolves ($14.
6 million) Mavericks ($16. 8 million) Warriors ($19. 2 million) Knicks ($19.
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