Can the Trail Blazers offseason already be declared a success?

Before the NBA’s free agency period even began, the Portland Trail Blazers had already addressed two of their biggest offseason questions by jettisoning Deandre Ayton and trading away Anfernee Simons. By moving off the high-dollar contracts of two veteran players who no longer fit the team’s timeline or identity, general manager Joe Cronin has cleared the runway for the team’s young core to either sink or swim.On this week’s episode of the Oregonian Sports Podcast, hosts Bill Oram and Brenna Greene react to the Blazers flurry of swift and decisive moves. Also discussed on the episode:• Can the Blazers complete the sweep and find a taker for Jerami Grant, as well?• Is Jrue Holiday really unhappy about being traded to Portland?• Why drafting Yang Hansen was either brilliant or brainless• How Portland’s WNBA franchise turned a negative into a positive with its front-office shakeup• Do the hosts like Texas State as the final addition to the reimagined Pac-12? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices