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Let Joe Cronin cook. A quiet Sunday just got far more intriguing for Trail Blazers fans, as the team has acquired Vit Krejci from the Atlanta Hawks for Duop Reath and two second-round picks. Krejci is a deadeye shooter (42.3% from 3PT this season) on an extremely team-friendly contract with two years of team control left after the 2025-26 season. Adding him for an expiring contract and two future second-rounders is a masterclass in general managing from Joe Cronin.
Portland added perhaps the best pure shooter on the trading block — but they did give up a few assets to do it. Small assets, of course, as two second-rounders isn’t what you’d call breaking the bank. But they’re draft assets nonetheless, and adding a player who will log serious minutes (as Krejci will) for an expiring deal and draft picks is something that a team does if it’s trying to win games.
In other words — are the Blazers buying at the deadline?
If this move is any indication, they might be. Duop Reath is out for the season, so Atlanta is making this deal solely from a money-saving and pick accumulation standpoint. Portland, meanwhile, filled its biggest hole (currently 30th in 3PT%) as Tiago Splitter tries to lead this ragtag bunch to a postseason appearance.
Blazers might be signaling a win-now approach to the trade deadline
Or… They might be done. Although this feels a bit like a small move before a big move, Blazers fans should also prepare for this being the only move. This team needs shooting help badly; Krejci provides that, but he was acquired for a minimal return. We’re still not quite sure how much of this team’s future Cronin is willing to mortgage for players who will help right now.
I should, however, say thank you to Duop Reath for his service with the Blazers. That guy is awesome, and I hope he finds his way back onto an NBA court next season. It stinks that his tenure ended because of a serious injury.
Adding Krejci signals the Blazers have no interest in bottoming out the second half of the year. Maybe they don’t go all-in and try to get a star, but this move pretty clearly shows that the Blazers aren’t trying to get worse at the deadline. That answers one big question — the next one to answer is just how much better this team wants to get. Acquiring a sharpshooter with two-plus years left on an inexpensive deal is a promising first clue.