Trail Blazers Fan Fest comes with enthusiasm, hope

Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin walked the Moda Center concourse talking to fans and posing for photos on Saturday before the team's annual Fan Fest.

In a brief conversation, Cronin said he had received positive feedback from fans regarding the team's rebuild, which will likely include a fourth consecutive trip to the NBA lottery following the upcoming season.

Interviews with a few fans mirrored Cronin's experience, suggesting that a healthy number of fans remain intrigued and encouraged by the addition of young talent in a post-Damian Lillard world.

Some of the young talent already acquired, primarily second-year point guard Scoot Henderson and rookie center Donavan Clingan, entertained fans with a team scrimmage following an abbreviated practice.

Team Black won 27-24 over Team Gray. New forward Deni Avdija was named MVP.

He is one of the young players bringing hope to the franchise's future.

"I love it," Avdija said of the event. "The vibe was amazing. The fans were supportive. And there's great vibes in here, which is the most important. I feel like we're a young team. We have a lot of energy."

Fans Kylee Rusher, 22, and Chris Grizzell, 23, of Wilsonville, expressed hope for the team's future.

They're embracing the team's young talents and the franchise's direction. Even amidst the losing.

"I feel like it's part of rebuilding," Rusher said.

Grizzell said he attends about 15 to 20 games per season and will handle the losing better if it leads to a big payoff.

"Obviously, I would love for us to have a good season this year," Grizzell said. "But I would also love for us to have a chance at picking up (Duke's) Cooper Flagg and adding on to the rebuild."

Both lamented Lillard's departure. They enjoyed attending games primarily to watch Lillard perform. But maybe it was time for a change.

"I think the city of Portland would much rather, at this point, watch the Blazers just try to succeed and see what we can do with the young core," Grizzell said.

Fan David Miller of Salem, who has season tickets for half the games, remains supportive but is growing impatient.

He wanted to see the team build around Lillard.

"I think they wasted Damian Lillard," he said.

Still, Miller, who attended Fan Fest wearing a black Clyde Drexler #22 Blazers jersey, said he is cool with the franchise landing in the 2025 draft lottery to get a shot at Flagg.

"I'll be okay with losing because I know what they are trying to do," Miller said.

But after this season, he wants to see the talent acquisitions pay off.

"They need to be just competitive and then keep building," Millers said.

Part of his impatience comes from the dollar signs attached to his season tickets. During the second half of last season, he found that he could attend games he didn't have season tickets for at a lower cost than his season ticket price.

"They need to get going because you're paying for a product that's been tanking for the last few years," Miller said.

Fans in attendance Saturday appeared enthusiastic about the Blazers, 81-155 over the past three seasons. Avdija, from Israel, felt the love.

"I came from a background where the fans are awesome, back in Europe," he said. "I know how it is to be with a loud crowd. When you have that in the NBA, it's big. It's big time. The city is supportive and I feel like it's a big plus for an NBA team."