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Tom Dundon’s tenure as the owner of the Trail Blazers has gotten off to an interesting start thanks to a number of reports about his unwillingness to spend more money than absolutely necessary after buying the team for over $4 billion. That includes a bold strategy he is supposedly harnessing in the search for a new head coach, which led to at least one potential hire allegedly laughing him out of the room after receiving a lowball offer.
In March, the Portland Trail Blazers officially changed hands in a $4.25 billion transaction that made Tom Dundon the new owner of the team that previously belonged to late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Dundon is no stranger to that particular realm, as he’s been the majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes since 2018. However, it costs significantly more to run an NBA team, and it appears the billionaire is doing everything in his power to cut costs in Portland.
It didn’t take long for a pattern of behavior to emerge concerning his frugal tendencies, including the decision to deprive fans of free t-shirts at playoff games, forbidding two-way players and some employees from traveling to away games, and forcing the ones that did to check out of their hotel rooms with hours to kill before a contest to avoid getting hit with fees.
There’s also the issue of the new head coach the team will be hiring in the offseason, as Tiago Splitter led Portland to the playoffs in an interim role after Chauncey Billups was implicated in a gambling scandal at the start of the season.
All signs point to the Trail Blazers being put at a disadvantage due to the budget Dundon has allegedly proposed, which reportedly led to at least one potential hire firmly rejecting an offer that would have theoretically been an upgrade.
St. Louis coach Josh Schertz reportedly rejected an offer from the Trail Blazers because it was less than what he was making with a college team
Earlier this week, The Athletic published a lengthy article concerning Dundon’s penchant for penny-pinching, which both confirmed he is making a concerted effort to keep costs low and could not care less about the criticism he’s received for his efforts to achieve that goal.
The outlet spoke with one source who pushed back against the notion that Dundon is unwilling to pay whoever becomes the new coach more than $1.5 million a year, flatly stating, “It’s just not true.”
However, the piece also notes how quickly word gets around in the NBA, and some anecdotes have made the rounds that strongly suggest he was attempting to court potential hires with some very meager salaries, including the one that was supposedly offered to St. Louis skipper Josh Schertz.
Schertz spent three years at Indiana State before taking over for the Billikens in 2024, and he led them to the second round of the NCAA Tournament during his second season.
Based on what Zach Harper had to say on a recent episode of the Basketball Illuminati podcast, the Trail Blazers were one of a number of teams that attempted to poach him before being spurned for an offer that was almost a slap in the face:
“The one story I can tell that’s going around about the whole coach thing is he talked to the St. Louis University coach, and allegedly offered, ‘Hey man, a million dollars to come be an NBA head coach’ and it’s like ‘I make more than that at St. Louis, what are you doing?'”
Harper admitted he couldn’t personally verify the offer but noted “several people” had relayed the same tale, and it tracks with other rumors concerning coaches who got a similar treatment.
Schertz not only turned down the Trail Blazers but every other team that approached him before signing a six-year, $22 million extension with St. Louis, which means he’ll be making more than $3.6 million per season.