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Despite getting knocked out of the opening round of the NBA playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers fans should have reason for excitement.
All-Star forward Deni Avdija looks like he’s growing into one of the league’s best players, and the team’s young core took a big step forward.
There’s just one big issue: new owner Tom Dundon.
Dundon, who also owns the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, recently purchased the team for $4 billion from the family of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Allen passed away in 2018, and at the time, the team was worth just $1.3 billion.
Allen’s family also owns the Seattle Seahawks, who went up for sale immediately after winning the Super Bowl in February.
After acquiring the Blazers, Dundon immediately began to cut costs, saving money on everything from team travel to in-arena giveaways. In fact, Dundon is even trying to cheap out on the team’s current head coaching search.
But while Dundon refuses to spend a single cent more than necessary on the Blazers, he is spending his money elsewhere.
Blazers Owner Tom Dundon Has Spent Hundreds Of Millions On Pickleball
According to a report from Ben Axelrod of Front Office Sports, Dundon recently made a significant contribution to Pickleball Inc., which announced it has received $225 million in additional funding.
So, why is Dundon so happy to spend on Pickleball and not the Blazers?
Well, for one, Dundon is Pickleball Inc.’s primary majority shareholder and owns all of the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), the Pickleball Central retail website, and PickleballTournaments.com software.
Pickleball Inc. is the parent company of both the PPA and Major League Pickleball. So, clearly Dundon believes in the future of the sport.
However, this major investment comes just days after Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported Dundon doesn’t want to pay the team’s head coach more than $1.5 million, which is significantly below the current market rate for NBA head coaches.
Meanwhile, the Blazers’ lease at their current arena, Moda Center, ends in 2030, and there are already talks about the NBA exploring other major markets, with Las Vegas chief among them.
Perhaps it all works out. After all, Dundon is similarly cheap with the Hurricanes, and Carolina is currently one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
But it’s easy to understand why Blazers fans are extremely leery of the new team owner.