Joe Cronin | 2025-26 End of Season Interview | Portland Trail Blazers | April 30, 2026

All right, everybody. Uh, before we start. Okay, welcome everybody. Thank you for being here. Um, good season for us, really, really proud of the work that the guys and the staff accomplished. Um, you know, it was it was a good playoff run for us. I think, you know, we left, we left the Spur City, both, or the Spur series, both encouraged and disappointed. You know, we're encouraged by steps we've taken, where we're headed, but this point, we thought we could have played better. And, uh, we understand it's a process. It was good to get those reps in against a really good team. And, um, you know, a lot of good exit meetings today with the guys and a lot of positivity and excitement around where we're headed. So that was step one. Now our challenge is to, you know, keep getting better and we can get into some of that and, um, just walking out of here really optimistic about, you know, a big step that this team has taken. On that note, what, what are the biggest needs this off season? What do you think this team, this team is missing? Yeah. Um, from a skill set perspective, I think, you know, the Spur series showed us that, you know, we just, in really the whole season, that we just don't shoot the ball well enough. So, you know, shooting is something we knew we were somewhat deficient in and something that we tried to address a little bit at the trade deadline with, um, something that Dame will definitely help with, but, um, it's still a need moving forward. You know, we played a, a lot of possessions in the mud where, you know, it was a crowd of pain for our attackers, specifically Danny, Drew, Scoot, like they just didn't have a lot of room to operate and, you know, teams guarded us a certain way knowing that we were really good at the rim and not great on the perimeter and, you know, I think offensively that just created issues for us throughout the season, you know, highlighted by high turnover rate and, um, low shooting percentages. So that's one thing. I think, you know, we also just, you know, still need to keep improving our, improving our talent base. You know, we, a lot of that will come internally. You know, I mentioned Adam already, you know, of course that's a big talent boost. Um, but individually, our guys got to keep getting better. You know, we have a lot of young guys who, uh, have a lot of growth in them still, so they got to take another step, but also we need to look externally for additions that can continue to, you know, boost our talent. You know, this, this league, this Western conference, it's tough. We've got to, you know, keep getting better and keep, you know, stacking these players to to be able to compete with these guys. Uh, on that note, like ownership wise, what, what's Tom's directive or, or edicting into the off season? What does, what does he want to see? Yeah. Um, growth. He wants to see, you know, continue to get better, you know, on and off the court. You know, Tom and I spent a lot of time. He spent all season, you know, is so, so competitive and so diligent and so engaged with this team already. Um, he studied us deeply and intensely, you know, watches every game, you know, we talk pretty much after every game. Um, so he got a really good feel for us, you know, even before he took over, he was watching all the time and, um, think was really encouraged with what he saw. You know, he saw continued growth, he saw talent base that, um, is very promising. Um, understands the assets that we have moving forward with all these picks that we have. Um, so, you know, he's just, he challenges us every day to, you know, go gain an advantage, go, you know, find the right player at the right price point that can keep him improving our roster, but also, you know, internally improving our processes and, you know, how we're looking at things whether it's from a coaching standpoint and our style of play and, you know, our player development techniques, whether it's to health and performance or scouting, you know, it's just overall, just getting better and better and fine-tuning, you know, all these areas that are needed in order for a team like ours to thrive. The last couple of years you talked about going into the season as an evaluation year. And at this year would still be an evaluation year with, you know, more of the hopes of winning and and all that. How do you evaluate this year considering all of the injuries? The rotations were different. Guys were riding out and asked to do different things. So how do you evaluate that? I thought at times it almost made it easier to evaluate because we saw a lot of our guys be put in positions that, um, challenge them and, you know, that they may have not have been in otherwise. You know, I think Danny's probably the premier example where, you know, the season prior we put the ball in his hands quite a bit and saw him drive. This year we put that in hyper mode and he literally had to carry our offense for, you know, six plus weeks where he was the point guard, he was the playmaker, he was the initiator. Um, you know, so we were able to test those limits of his capabilities and saw that he was able to live up to those. Um, bunch of other different examples, um, where we just were able to see all these different subsets come to fruition, whether it's City Sako getting 1000 minutes or Caleb Love getting 1000 minutes or Shady Sharp pumping up his usage, you know, up to the 30% range to Scoot Henderson starting and getting some great playoff of rap to Don't you can be dominant for some stretches, um, because of his ability to play big minutes, play through some mistakes, um, just continue to grow. We saw, you know, a lot of a lot of individual wins this season. You know, I'm happy with how the team did, but individually I thought there were a lot of, you know, great things. I mean, Rob Williams coming back healthy and looking like the Rob of old. Um, but he's coming back from injury and being really impactful. Jeremy Grant coming off, but I think he would say, you know, a rough season the year prior, it's being, you know, a 120 PSA guy again and banging down three and getting into the rim more often. Um, Tumi Kamaara playing in every single game this year, premier defense, um, showing some flashes of being a premier shooter. So, you know, a lot of lot of individual wins that sometimes you wouldn't see like if you just had a fixed nine man rotation, maybe you don't see the Chris Murray impact, you know, some important April games. Like there were just so many of those that, um, those guys having that opportunity were able to, you know, jump up. Joe. Joe, what's the current status of the head coaching position? Do you have any sense of when there's going to be some sort of decision on that? Uh, current status is, um, Thiago is a candidate for the position. Um, but we're also looking around at other candidates. You know, we've decided early on we were going to cast a wide net and, you know, get to know a lot of different coaches and analyze and evaluate them, um, in relation to Thiago. And timeline wise, we don't have, um, a timeline pinned down. We just want to, um, keep meeting people and keep talking to people and, um, having a really thorough process. Do you have a coaching opening? Do we have a coaching opening? Um, still your head coach? So the part of it. There's no new updates there. There's nothing really I can add to that situation. But as far as is Thiago being interim head coach, um, he's a candidate along with the other people we're talking to. But is there, it sounds like there's no scenario where would would return to the Trail Blazers, but he's still your act. He's still officially your head coach. So how do you do this? I just can't comment on at this point. We'll update you when we can. From our personal perspective, is somebody who has known for quite some time. What was that day like for you? This is our first time I'm going to talk to you one-on-one. So what was that day like for you? This is our first time I'm going to talk to you one-on-one. So what was that day like for you? to to that firestorm personally. When the time comes and I'm able to talk about it, I'm happy to share, but at this point, there's nothing I can add to it at this point. The league asked of you guys in the wake of his arrest and as they've done their investigation, what the league been asking? Um, the initial ask was, uh, name of replacement, which we did. And the second ask was no comments until there's an appropriate time. Joe, you, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. I know you pushed back on the on the the salary, um, stuff with with the coach, but there have been a ton of things over the last few weeks. Um, not traveling the two ways, the hotel situation in Phoenix. Um, there, you know, people have have, uh, verbalized that they feel really unfair to Thiago for this kind of, um, discourse around the position when he was still in the job. m. There have been former players who have said that this is going to hurt the Blazers in free agency. What, what, what is your view of of kind of the reputation that is being created, kind of in real time around this organization? I think, you know, seeing, seeing those reports and some of those things for me, it was, it was somewhat disturbing because I've gotten the opportunity to know Tom Done in really, really well these last 9, 12, 9, 10 months and, um, it's just not an accurate depiction of what his goals are. Um, yes, we're going to run things more efficiently in terms of, you know, being economically responsible in terms of having a discipline, less is more mentality. But there's certain situations that nobody would know, you know, because I haven't said it and that he wouldn't say it, but I've seen a lot of instances where he was willing to throw big money on the table in order to support this team, in order to put it on the floor, in order to make us a winner. There were multiple trades at the trade deadline, but one that, you know, it's important for me to talk about is we had a scenario that I presented with him to him about, it would have launched us into the tax close to the first. Would have saved the other team a bunch of money. We would have got a nice young asset and, um, he would have had a right, a check for $20 million because he would have inherited that tax bill and he didn't flinch. He's like, yep, do it. And at that moment, I said, okay, he's about winning. He's going to put money into this team, um, whenever it's necessary. I mean, we've had a ton of conversations already about how we can buy into this draft using cash. Um, I'm prompted, he called me one day and said, I just bought us a new hyperbaric chamber, it's coming next week. Um, so there's a lot of, you know, spending falsities about him. He's going to spend, um, when it touches the players and the players are always going to be supported. But the, the two-way situation feels like something that directly impacts players and also the way players would feel about being part of this organization. Can you explain what happened there? That one's on me. It was, it was more of a miscommunication on my end. Um, we've talked about doing some traveling party reductions, you know, like next year we'll run a little lighter. Um, I just assumed that meant including them and I didn't double check. And we fixed that mistake. We brought those guys to San Antonio. That was that was on me for not communicating properly. All right. Hey, how does Rob fit in to the equation? He's, he had a pretty incredible year. How does he fit into your plans? Sure. Um, very open-minded to keeping Rob and very hopeful that we can keep Rob. Um, incredibly proud of the job he did this year, you know. We all know he's been through a lot with these injuries and the, the work he put in in this off season and then to come back and be himself pretty much, if not more, in some certain some situations, like the way he played and, you know, he had his balance, his feel, always shine, his so impactful. You know, on both sides of the floor for us as a, you know, rim protector and roll man for Rob to be Rob, like that was such a win for us and something we all take a lot of pride in. Like that was a ton of work from health and performance and Rob and his team and we just all were really coordinated in his rehab and it's, um, a big source of pride for us, the season that Rob had. So, I hope it can work out, um, long term. I know he likes it here and I know we like him, so. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points of emphasis. Like, say, you know, it just there wasn't the specific role for you there. Now the challenge is let's, let's come get that role, back, you know, let's keep getting better and, um, come do what you're capable of, which, um, very confident he'll do. Joe, is there anything this season from, uh, player or team, uh, level where it's caused you to change your, your opinion, ceiling, floor wise for individuals and the team? Um, always, you know, I'm always trying to evaluate that and it's, it's definitely a moving target and not easy to do, but I think team wise, you know, I didn't know what to think coming into this season. You know, I like how we closed last year. Um, love the addition which we made, was excited to know that Rob was coming back. Um, was encouraged by some of the off-season growth I had seen from our young guys. Um, in this season, you know, while it was kind of complicated with, you know, some of the adversity, with the injuries, those kind of things. Um, to see those guys, you know, hit their stride really well in April, I think I don't think it made me re-adjust our ceiling more than just reinforce that I like the way this roster is headed and what these guys are capable of. Um, individually, I wouldn't say there were any surprises or, you know, or disappointments. It was more I just, you know, saw a continued growth and, you know, I've said this before a lot to you all that, yeah, I try to focus on the high-end moments that the guys show, you know, show me your ceiling and we'll, we'll raise your floor. And I thought throughout the season from, I mean, at least a dozen guys, we saw some ceiling capability moments where you look and say, look, if he can stabilize and do this more consistently, um, he/we might be onto something. So overall, I felt like we saw a lot of that this year. You know, I think our biggest issue was just consistency. You know, we just, that series was a good microscope of it where we had some great stretches of play and some, um, subpar stretches of play and we've just got to stabilize and solidify and I think some of that's youth and some of that's, um, just overall growth that we need to experience. Joe, you mentioned Tom's understanding of of the roster or the the assets you guys have. Is there any urgency or changing direction with what might turn out to be a different value scale for the draft picks as far as like what the NBA as a whole is looking at with anti-tagging divisions? Sure. Um, studying that really closely, you know, been involved in, um, almost all of those discussions as far as, you know, the league's been really good and really thorough about putting a lot of attention towards this topic and, um, you know, we're just trying to stay ahead of it and learn, you know, the cause and effects of what these changes could be. Um, I think at this stage, it's a little reckless to speculate on it because there's so many parts of it that just may or may not happen and what layers will be implemented and what won't. So, um, obviously with all the assets that we have moving forward, it's a, it's an important decision for us, but, um, right now just trying to, you know, just kind of walk through the different scenarios and the pros and cons of how, um, changes could affect those. Is there a corridor scenario in there that you prefer? Um, generally speaking, you know, selfishly, yeah, of course there's there's some that could be better for the Trail Blazers than others. Um, overall though, I think Tom and I are both really firm on, whatever is best for the league on this one. This is an important topic, um, that we think everybody agrees needs to be addressed. So if it's best for the game, we're going to be supportive. Do you feel like you need to add, like, the big splash that that Tom talked about at his interview, or do you feel like you can work around the margins with the base you have? Like, how do you approach that this summer? We're open-minded to both. Um, big splash is definitely something that's intriguing to us. Um, but only at the right price point. We're not going to completely sacrifice our future, um, for a short-term swing. Um, but at the same time, um, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all the opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, um, we'll be content doing some smaller things, knowing that, um, we're confident that our talent base is strong and that, you know, the addition of Dame, the internal development, um, fin-tuning some of these skill set deficiencies we have, we can take a step whether we make a big splash or not. Back to the coaching search, do you feel like you have the budget to go hire the best coach available? I do. Yeah, um, a lot of the the reports on budget out there were a little misleading. Um, have talked to Tom a lot about this. Um, we're going to pay the coach, um, based on some sort of level of shared risk. You know, if it's a, if it's a first-time coach who, um, comes with a lot of risk and doesn't have a market that we have to necessarily compete in, it'll be one number. If the coach we're talking to is a 15-year vet and a future Hall of Famer, it's going to be a completely different number and Tom isn't going to flinch at either of those scenarios. We're going to be very open-minded, um, to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in and I'm not concerned about the number, um, at all. Joe, how have you found Tom's adaptability over the last month as he kind of gets used to how the NBA works compared to the NHL? Yeah. Well, um, you know, I think in any new scenario like this one where a new group takes over, there's there's, you know, some things that you're learning on the fly. You know, you just come in and, um, you don't, you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league and, um, it's a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just, you know, advising and educating and, um, helping navigate these decisions a little, um, more carefully and, but I would say overall, like the adaptability, I think, um, like Tom's super sharp, super attentive, um, very communicative and I think we've, um, gotten on the same page very quickly since he's taken over about just how the league moves in general, but also how we as a Trail Blazers organization want to move together. Has he given you any assurances about your job or has that come up at all in your guys' conversations? Um, we haven't talked much and I haven't asked. Um, as you get to know him and some of you do know him already, um, he's so transparent that if I thought I was at risk right now, I probably would know it. Um, but with that, no, no long-term promises or anything have been given to me and I understand that's part of the job. Like, really, none of my, the other 30 GMs around the league have much certainty either. You know, we're all day-to-day in this league and, um, I'm just moving forward understanding that, um, my challenge is to do an incredible job like I've always tried to do and, you know, those chips fall how they fall. Joe, I, I think a lot of fans hope for this team are pinned down kind of Scoot and Shade and those guys kind of being the young players. How, how do you look back on the season? Particularly with kind of the injury issues that both those guys had to sure. Yeah, um, we'll start with, you know, it was such, that was a big hit for us, you know, when he tore his hamstring and him, you know, he had a great off-season for us. So him missing those first 50 plus games, that was a big setback, but really encouraged by the way those remaining three months worth of basketball went for him. Um, good and bad, you know, like he, I thought he came out of the gate looking great and then he had a little rough patch, you know, when we went on that road trip and for me, that's all positive stuff, that's development, especially his ability to come out of that and then to get into this playoff series and play against, you know, a premier defense under the, the big time lights and really show like his high end potential and his ability to, you know, not just score the ball, but I thought defensively he had some really nice moments for us in those playoffs. So Scoot's resilience through a very complicated year for him, I thought was really encouraging and something I'm proud of. Um, Shaden's was unfortunately the inverse where, you know, he was able to play early and I thought he did a really good job like helping carry us through those, you know, those injury filled months where, you know, we didn't have a lot of playmaking or ball handling and really was him and Danny carrying a massive load and for Shady's efficiency to stay pretty flat while bumping up his usage that high, I thought that was an exciting step for him. Um, you know, he had that injury setback and missed, you know, I guess it was close to a month and then it was just hard to re-acclimate him back into the roster, um, had a in a role that he was used to this season. You know, he just, it just happened where most of our guys all got healthy at once and Thiago had a tough challenge ahead of him of like trying to find the right, the right fits for that rotation and, um, Shane's minutes suffered a little because of that, but, um, I don't think it's a, it's a long-term concern. It's not a long-term concern, it's more of just like points