Trail Blazers interim general manager Joe Cronin plans to hire Andrae Patterson as an assistant general manager, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Patterson has been serving as Cleveland’s senior director of basketball operations and also spent multiple years in a front office role with the Jazz, Wojnarowski adds.
Cronin has been given the freedom to add to his front office staff from ownership, and Patterson will receiver a promotion in his new role as assistant GM, Woj tweets. Patterson is a former NBA player and is highly regarded throughout the league, per John Hollinger of The Athletic (via Twitter), who adds that he likes the hire.
The move seems to indicate that Portland’s ownership likes how Cronin has performed thus far on an interim basis and bodes well for his prospects at keeping the general manager position permanently. It will be interesting to see what the Blazers do prior to the trade deadline with Damian Lillard sidelined after surgery. Portland has been active in trade talks, and the expectation is the team will continue to explore ways to reshape its roster.
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