Portland Trail Blazers owner has ‘no problem being unpopular’ amid relocation rumours

Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images

Tom Dundon has been in the news for his recent decisions as the owner of the Portland Trail Blazers for all the wrong reasons.

Dundon has certainly not ingratiated himself with the Trail Blazers fanbase with his recent decisions, proving himself to be a frugal and hard-headed team owner.

However, it is his insistence on not financing the renovation of the Moda Center that has earned him a lot of criticism, especially after he promised to consider relocating the team to another city.

Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images

Portland Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon doesn’t care what fans think of him

Speaking on NBA Today, ESPN insider Brian Windhorst revealed the complexities that come with Tom Dundon possibly taking the Portland Trail Blazers out of the city.

While there are hurdles in Dundon’s way, the new owner is not someone who is concerned with being liked, and will make decisions only based on the impact it has on the bottom line.

“It’s realistic, but it’s definitely not a done deal. There’s a couple of things you have to know. Number one, when the Allen estate sold the team, they did a very short lease. The Blazers’ lease for the land under the arena was owned by the city of Portland. They did a very short lease.

“Leases are usually 15-20 or 30 years. They did a five-year lease. And there is almost no protection in the lease for the Blazers to leave.

“Secondly, the Allen Foundation did not sell to someone who was dedicated to keep them local. There were potential local bidders, including Phil Knight, the Nike founder.

“They didn’t go that direction. The other thing you need to know is that Tom Dundon is not interested, by his own words, in giving any money for this renovation.

“And it’s a messy one, because you’ve got state officials involved, the city is involved, the city council and the mayor, the county is involved…

“Getting all those people to agree on the time of day, much less giving the Blazers a bunch of money without a whole lot of strings attached, is complicated… It’s not a good development if you’re a Blazers fan.

“Tom Dundon is not someone to be trifled with. He has no problem being blunt, no problem being unpopular, and has no connection to the city of Portland. It is a recipe for relocation. It’s just not something that is going to be very clearly defined right now.”

Why NBA’s expansion dreams could stifle Tom Dundon’s relocation threat

Addressing this matter further, Windhorst also explained why the NBA would try their best to shut down Dundon’s relocation attempt so that it doesn’t jeopardize their lucrative expansion plans.

“Earlier this year, Adam Silver said relocation in the NBA was not on the table. That was months ago, that was before this happened, that doesn’t mean it is the case now. But the NBA, as you know, is looking to expand to Las Vegas and Seattle.

“Those would be the two markets you want to move a team to, whether you’re any team. But that’s not going to be allowed by the NBA owners because they want to expand there, and they want to get $7-8 billion for the expansion fee.

“If Tom Dundon was willing to pay $7-8 billion to move, then maybe that was an option. Seattle and Las Vegas are not options. There is a bunch of haze here, a bunch of sabre-rattling.

“If you’re going to expand, you’d want to expand when all of the teams have their arena deals settled so an owner could threaten to relocate, and that threat could get the local government to do it.

“This has been repeated in the NBA and other places for decades. But the NBA has flat-out come out and said they are looking at Seattle and Las Vegas.”

Dundon has quickly earned a reputation as one of the most ruthless owners in the NBA. However, the league’s wider ambitions may be a huge detriment to the leverage he holds over the league and Portland city officials in his quest to get the Moda Center financed.

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