Blazers are officially for sale

[oldfishermen]

I understand the concern about new ownership. But... How much worse can it get?

My guess is, an unemployed 20 year old, living in his mothers basement, that spends all day playing NBA2K, would make better decisions than Jody and Bert.

I like the odds of new ownership.

[zzaj]

I understand the concern about new ownership. But... How much worse can it get?

My guess is, an unemployed 20 year old, living in his mothers basement, that spends all day playing NBA2K, would make better decisions than Jody and Bert.

I like the odds of new ownership.

Are you offering me a JOB?

Oh, to be 20, living in my parent's basement playing basketball video games again, lol.

[DusterBuster]

Phil is 87-years old. Not sure what he has left in the tank.

One would assume he would be doing it for his family and the city even moreso than himself. I believe there was even some talk of that back in 2023 when it first came out he was interested.

* I'm not sure if Phil Knight is still interested. Maybe. But I know somebody who knows somebody and the scuttlebutt was that Jody Allen and Bert Kolde really ticked-off PK with the way they responded to his two semi-formal offers to buy the Blazers

Yeah, this would be disappointing if it's the case... my gut would say even with him getting pissed off, I'm not sure that would be enough to make him write off the idea completely. It was also 2 years ago now that those overtures were made, a decent amount of time to hold a grudge, but I'm also not PK, so who knows...

well, he's a pretty successful businessman so I'd imagine he's negotiated many times with people he detests

but he's not going to get squeezed by anybody, IMO, and Jody & Bert sure seem like squeezers

Maybe... I can't begin to even start to assume I have any idea of the inside going-ons of the minds of Jody and Bert of their business acumen.

I will say, I wonder how invested they really are WHO it gets sold to vs the final price that their law firm Hogan Lovells is able to come up with.

[DusterBuster]

I understand the concern about new ownership. But... How much worse can it get?

My guess is, an unemployed 20 year old, living in his mothers basement, that spends all day playing NBA2K, would make better decisions than Jody and Bert.

I like the odds of new ownership.

It absolutely can get worse. I'm not going to assume it is, but please don't kid yourself.

As much **** as gets piled on by fans for Jodie and Co, she's not be a bad owner... she's also not been a good owner. She's just be very middle of the road mediocre and keeping things on autopilot. Bad owners cheap out on all aspects of a franchise, and to Jodie's credit, she genuinely hasn't done that. She's tried to just keep things running as it was since Paul passed. So it's a matter of, you didn't make things worse, but you're actively not trying to make things particularly better either... and largely because this was always the end-point for Jodie which was the sale of the team once the new TV rights are in, which is now relatively close.

[DusterBuster]

Another possible owner to throw into the mix, Jeff Bezos. PNW roots, and there was a good amount of smoke he was interested in the Celtics... One would have to wonder if he would rather wait for Seattle expansion tho.

[Norm2953]

The NBA has a shopping list of groups who want to own an NBA franchise. Should be no problem
an owner that will pay $3.5 Billion for the team.

Portland is on the west coast and I wonder if an Asian ownership group would want to buy an
NBA team

[zzaj]

Why would the Blazers need a new arena? If they do, they can pay for it.

Also curious why people want Phil Knight to buy the team. What makes him a good NBA governor?

IIRC, the Moda Center was sold to the City for $1 last year--effectively making it "publicly" owned. I thiiiiiink that the Blazers still manage it though? It's unclear to me how a new owner would interface with upgrades...

And apparently the Rose Garden is long overdue for serious upgrade.

[Dame Lizard]

Wow! I'm genuinely surprised. I do wonder if the timing of this has anything to do with dropping in the lotto. I wonder if it would have changed anything for the sell if the Blazers move up into the Top 4.

Hmmm personally I doubt it.

If we got #1, that would increase the value of the team significantly and would make it perfect to sell. As Flagg has enough hype that there's honestly more downside than upside. I absolutely love him as a prospect, but it's as if people are expecting him to be a Jayson Tatum quality player.

Will be interesting to see who is on the prowl for the Blazers.

[The Sebastian Express]

Less upset about the Chauncey extension now. I'm sure a new owner won't have any problem eating a couple years of that contract if they want to oust him.

[PDXKnight]

* about the team moving: the odds of that are small...tiny....about equal to the 1.8% odds of Dallas winning the lottery

* the NBA has already started the process of expansion to 32 teams with the primary candidates being Las Vegas and Seattle. That's two western conference teams-in-waiting with OKC and Memphis being the expected teams to move to the EC. Seattle to the NW division; Las Vegas to the Southwest division.

* I'm not sure if Phil Knight is still inerested. Maybe. But I know somebody who knows somebody and the scuttlebutt was that Jody Allen and Bert Kolde really ticked-off PK with the way they responded to his two semi-formal offers to buy the Blazers

* not a coincidence, IMO, that this news comes the day after the lottery. I'd wonder how much the sale price would have increased if Portland had the #1 pick....500M?

* Seattle mothership had to know about this for months. Kind of makes the Cronin/Billups extensions look like rewards for being good soldiers. A new owner may clean house of management

Yeah 1.8 sounds right on the odds, but it won't be rigged for this one especially with the 2 most appealing markets getting checked off very soon via expansion it would seem

[JasonStern]

Long overdue. It was Paul's team. Several years of philanthropic projects unfunded for some mediocre seasons of basketball (less one WCF run with the since-gone Lillard). Hope they do something cool with the funds, like fund A.I. research into cures for forms of cancer.

It wasn't just Uncle Phil mentioned in the original offer. It was also Dodgers part owner Alan Smolinisky. Both active sports enthusiasts, and likely the best chance Portland has of keeping the Blazers in Portland.

As for league expansion, there's an equal chance they get moved to Seattle. Contract extends to 2030, but there are stipulations on the city investing in renovations, and probably a buy-out clause.

Not sure whether the team relocating but being with a competent, rich owner is better or worse than the team remaining in Portland, but becoming "The Atlanta Hawks of the West" ran by some for profit collective.

[PDXKnight]

Long overdue. It was Paul's team. Several years of philanthropic projects unfunded for some mediocre seasons of basketball (less one WCF run with the since-gone Lillard). Hope they do something cool with the funds, like fund A.I. research into cures for forms of cancer.

It wasn't just Uncle Phil mentioned in the original offer. It was also Dodgers part owner Alan Smolinisky. Both active sports enthusiasts, and likely the best chance Portland has of keeping the Blazers in Portland.

As for league expansion, there's an equal chance they get moved to Seattle. Contract extends to 2030, but there are stipulations on the city investing in renovations, and probably a buy-out clause.

Not sure whether the team relocating but being with a competent, rich owner is better or worse than the team remaining in Portland, but becoming "The Atlanta Hawks of the West" ran by some for profit collective.

I don't think it could be much worse, this current group has no championship aspirations.

I really have a hard time believing the nba would allow the Blazers to leave Portland. Historically they've backed up Portland and feels like they don't want the sonics situation to repeat. And being the only big 4 pro team in this market it's hard to imagine there being incentive to move the team as the support is there.

[zzaj]

The more I think about it the more I hope that it's sold to Merritt Paulson (Timbers owner) leading a group of investors. I think I heard Clownzano first mention him as a prospective buyer...

Paulson has done pretty great things with the Timbers brand, and seems committed in a way that actually reminds me quite a bit of Paul Allen. Didn't love the way he handled the whole abuse debacle with the Thorns, however...

[PDXKnight]

The more I think about it the more I hope that it's sold to Merritt Paulson (Timbers owner) leading a group of investors. I think I heard Clownzano first mention him as a prospective buyer...

Paulson has done pretty great things with the Timbers brand, and seems committed in a way that actually reminds me quite a bit of Paul Allen. Didn't love the way he handled the whole abuse debacle with the Thorns, however...

Paulson is an interesting possibility as hes younger than phil and would probably have a genuine interest in the team winning. Though does he know enough wealthy people to pool together 3.5 billion? Because I doubt he could do it on his own

[Shem]

Be careful of what you wish for.

Example: If you're a diehard Star Wars fan, you may already know the story I'm going to tell.

If you're old like me, you grew up watching the original trilogy in the theaters (which I did) from 1977-1983. 16 years later in 1999, Episode I: The Phantom Menace comes out and people from my generation said Jar Jar Binks ruined their childhood. Episode II and Episode III both get universally hated by diehard fans who were kids during the originals. Many call for George Lucas to sell Star Wars to someone else. Anyone else would be better just like many are thinking any other ownership group would be better for the Blazers.

The final straw was when a small group of fans created the documentary: The People Vs George Lucas! Within the next year, Lucas sells Star Wars to Disney. Diehard fans from my generation rejoice. Then the sequels are made and those same fans would wanted this change freak out. All of a sudden George Lucas is treated like a god again and say it was a mistake for him to sell the franchise. Some of those fans make YouTube videos apologizing to Lucas. And all of a sudden the hated prequels (1999-2005) magically are considered great films. Very weird.

Again, be careful of what you wish for.

[Dame Lizard]

Long overdue. It was Paul's team. Several years of philanthropic projects unfunded for some mediocre seasons of basketball (less one WCF run with the since-gone Lillard). Hope they do something cool with the funds, like fund A.I. research into cures for forms of cancer.

It wasn't just Uncle Phil mentioned in the original offer. It was also Dodgers part owner Alan Smolinisky. Both active sports enthusiasts, and likely the best chance Portland has of keeping the Blazers in Portland.

As for league expansion, there's an equal chance they get moved to Seattle. Contract extends to 2030, but there are stipulations on the city investing in renovations, and probably a buy-out clause.

Not sure whether the team relocating but being with a competent, rich owner is better or worse than the team remaining in Portland, but becoming "The Atlanta Hawks of the West" ran by some for profit collective.

I'm not American so don't know too much about the sports markets, but why would anyone want to move the Blazers?

Partially courtesy of not having a NFL or MLB team in Oregon, but the Blazers have one of the most loyal and we'll attending fanbases in the NBA, which is particularly impressive as it's not a big market city.

The franchises which are more vulnerable for relocation are the ones which struggle to sell 50% of the seats (at sustainable prices) to any particular game.

[zzaj]

Long overdue. It was Paul's team. Several years of philanthropic projects unfunded for some mediocre seasons of basketball (less one WCF run with the since-gone Lillard). Hope they do something cool with the funds, like fund A.I. research into cures for forms of cancer.

It wasn't just Uncle Phil mentioned in the original offer. It was also Dodgers part owner Alan Smolinisky. Both active sports enthusiasts, and likely the best chance Portland has of keeping the Blazers in Portland.

As for league expansion, there's an equal chance they get moved to Seattle. Contract extends to 2030, but there are stipulations on the city investing in renovations, and probably a buy-out clause...

Just heard on Richmond's podcast that part of the City's involvement with owning the building includes a stipulation that if a new owner decides to move the team, then the new owner would have to pay back the city it's 50% of monies allocated for upgrades. IMHO, that's a pretty hefty incentive for any potential buyer to stay, and to weed out any potential buyers that want the team moved.

[DusterBuster]

The more I think about it the more I hope that it's sold to Merritt Paulson (Timbers owner) leading a group of investors. I think I heard Clownzano first mention him as a prospective buyer...

Paulson has done pretty great things with the Timbers brand, and seems committed in a way that actually reminds me quite a bit of Paul Allen. Didn't love the way he handled the whole abuse debacle with the Thorns, however...

Paulson is an interesting possibility as hes younger than phil and would probably have a genuine interest in the team winning. Though does he know enough wealthy people to pool together 3.5 billion? Because I doubt he could do it on his own

It’s pretty rare anyone can buy teams on their own these days, part of why the prices have gone so crazy. Not impossible, but seems unlikely. Even for a guy like Phil, not sure he would buy all on his own.

The new model seems to be a “frontman” who’s a known name to be the face and a partner to run the franchise, than money guy or people who are the funding / investors.

[Case2012]

I’m so, so unbelievably happy right now. Everyone gets an and1! This is it. No more Joe Cronin. No more Chauncey(maybe). No more Vulcans. No more dodging the luxury tax like it’s radioactive. The entire power structure that’s held this franchise hostage is finally crumbling.

Say what you will about Phil Knight — and yeah, I have my issues with him too but the reality is: he’s the best possible option. He’s Portland’s most powerful name, he has ties to Nike that could actually shift how we’re viewed in free agency, and most importantly — he’s not going to blink at spending. The tax won’t scare him. And let’s be real, he’s not getting any younger. You can’t take it with you. If he wants to make his final legacy move, this is it.

I’m hoping he drops a $7 billion public bid tomorrow and the league steps in to fast-track the sale this summer. We’ve waited long enough.

Honestly? This is the best chance we’ll have in our lifetimes to see the Blazers win a championship. Not because of any one player or pick but because for the first time in decades, we might finally have the infrastructure, the ownership, and the ambition to actually go for it.

This is the clean slate we’ve needed for years. Let’s **** GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

[Brandon-Clyde]

Checking my couch cushions to see if I have a few billion lying around.