Portland Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundun has admitted that he still has a lot to learn when it comes to NBA spending habits.
Dundun has caught a ton of flak in his first season as the Blazers’ owner for his seemingly excessive cost-cutting measures. His name went viral after news of his decision to cut the budget for free T-shirts during Portland’s two home playoff games in the team’s first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Blazers were also the only playoff team that opted not to bring their two-way players on the road with them. While two-way players are ineligible to play in the postseason, they did contribute to helping get Portland into the playoffs.
Caleb Love, in particular, played a huge role for the Blazers during stretches wherein their guard depth was decimated by injuries. He watched from home as Portland split Games 1 and 2 in San Antonio.
Dundun addressed the “cheap” talk this week on the “Game Over” podcast with Rich Paul and Max Kellerman. The billionaire, who also owns the Carolina Hurricanes, pointed to the Blazers having $100 million in additional spending capacity versus his NHL team.
“I’m just not gonna waste $100 million just because someone wants to write an article calling me cheap,” told Kellerman and Paul. “I’m not going to do it. It’s hard because I don’t think of a budget when it comes to the playing team and how to make sure we win.
“Some of the stuff that was blamed on money is actually not 100 percent true. That I thought about the money. Like on traveling players, I just made a mistake. I just don’t understand the league. In hockey we don’t travel extra people because we’re not on vacation, we’re here to win. I don’t want the distraction. The NBA seems to live with those distractions. It’s not how I think about it. So you gotta sort of have to learn.”
Dundon called it a “mistake” that he didn’t include Portland’s two-way players, but he sure did not sound like he agreed with the practice by labeling the move as a potential “distraction.”
The 54-year-old also addressed the rumors about him refusing to pay for late checkout for the team. Dundon claimed the hotel did not offer late checkout and asked him to pay for another night, which he did for players and coaches but not for the rest of the Blazers’ traveling party. In his eyes, Checkout was at 1:00 p.m., and the staff was expected to convene at a private ballroom to work 45 minutes later, anyway.
Dundon’s cost-cutting habits on more inconsequential things made him a meme for a week. But it’s also placed him under a microscope heading into a crucial offseason for the Blazers.
If he continues to cheap out when it comes to players and coaches, the noise will grow much louder.
