Trail Blazers fans have “been left to sift through breadcrumbs about the spending habits” of new team owner Tom Dundon, according to Bill Oram of the Portland OREGONIAN. For April 14’s play-in game in Phoenix and the first round in San Antonio, the team “reduced the number of people in its traveling party.” Among those not traveling were “the Blazers’ digital reporter and award-winning team photographer.” Last week, SI reported that team staffers “spent much of Tuesday afternoon with their bags in the lobby of the team’s Phoenix hotel so the team could avoid paying for late checkouts.” On Friday, Trail Blazers President Dewayne Hankins said that the team "would not provide playoff T-shirts as a fan giveaway” when the series shifts back to Portland next week. Co-owner Sheel Tyle, the No. 2 figure in Dundon’s ownership group, defend the absence of the T-shirts on X on Friday, saying that the Blazers are doing “something else.” A source noted that the decision to forgo shirts, which could be seen draped over seats in N.Y. and other hosting venues on Saturday, was “not about the money and that those costs are typically covered by sponsors anyway.” Oram noted elsewhere in the team’s operations there are “concerns” about the future of the team’s broadcast, in-game experience and community initiatives. The word on Dundon has “long been that he slashes everywhere else so he can invest in players and winning” (Portland OREGONIAN, 4/20).
TIGHT WALLET: THE ATHLETIC’s Jason Quick writes though Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter has “done an admirable job” following the arrest of coach Chauncey Billups, Dundon “has conducted a phone-book’s worth of interviews with college and pro coaches, breaching the etiquette that sitting NBA coaches are usually afforded.” A league source said, “If this is the start of his ownership, you’re going to have a wild ride back there.” The “bargain-budget approach is a culture shock in Portland,” where for 38 years the team was owned by one of the world’s richest men in late owner Paul Allen, followed by his sister, Jody Allen, after his death in 2018. If there “is a corner to be cut, Dundon is already around it, even if the optics are poor.” Sources said that the focus of Dundon’s coaching search “hasn’t been price.” If Dundon has “made one thing clear in his first month as owner, it’s this: He cares more about winning than he does people’s opinion.” A team source said that “indifference is one of Dundon’s ‘superpowers’” -- he is not “easily influenced by the sway of public opinion” (THE ATHLETIC, 4/21).
GET USED TO IT: Joe Ovies, noting Dundon’s ownership of the Hurricanes, said he told Trail Blazers fans when Dundon bought the team that there would be “some real rough cuts,” noting fans would need to get used to “how he is going to operate and cut costs.” Ovies, on the “Ovies & Giglio” podcast, said the team will also likely find “success,” though he said the NHL and NBA are “two different things.” He also noted the increased media coverage and said it will be “interesting to see how Dundon handles these types of things.” Joe Giglio said there is “no disputing the success the franchise has had since he took them over.” He added that “Business Tom” has a “number for everyone and everything,” and if it “does not contribute to the Carolina Hurricanes winning, he’s not paying that number” (“Ovies & Giglio,” 4/20).
