General manager Joe Cronin has high expectations for the Portland Trail Blazers heading into the 2025-26 season. Recently, he outright said that "it's winning time" in Portland, but those intentions have been clear dating back to last year.
The Blazers were among the few teams not to make a trade at February's deadline. Part of that can be attributed to Cronin not wanting to ruin any momentum. Instead of shutting things down as they have in past years, Portland was striving to make a play-in spot in a competitive Western Conference. They ultimately fell short of that goal, finishing with a 36-46 record.