The Portland Trail Blazers are blazing new trails in the realm of cost-cutting.
The Blazers already made negative headlines after getting through the play-in tournament, when it was revealed Friday that the team was not giving fans free T-shirts for Games 3 and 4. Considering the Blazers made the playoffs this year for the first time in half a decade, most assumed the postseason appearance would have warranted a simple fan giveaway.
The Spurs’ universally beloved court and T-shirt designs for Game 1 probably made Blazers fans feel even more neglected.
Fans apparently aren’t the only ones to feel the penny pinching. None of the Blazers’ two-way players, Caleb Love, Chris Youngblood, and Jayson Kent, were brought along during the team’s road trip to San Antonio for Games 1 and 2. According to Blazers reporter Sean Highkin, the move was made for the sake of cutting costs.
Portland was reportedly the only lower-seeded team in the playoffs’ opening weekend that did not bring its two-way players on the road. While two-way players are not eligible to play in the postseason, most franchises still consider them a part of the team and deserving of being on the bench for the playoffs.
Love in particular played a big role for Portland this season, especially when the starting backcourt of Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson were both sidelined. He averaged 10.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists across 49 games for Portland across 49 games.
The rookie guard scored 17 or more points on 14 different occasions during the regular season, providing a scoring boost when his team sorely needed it. But that wasn’t enough to warrant a seat on the team’s private plane to Texas.
The Blazers also notably had an official change in ownership earlier this month. On April 1, Tom Dundon formally became the new controlling owner of the franchise after purchasing it last year from the estate of Paul Allen for an estimated sum of $4.25 billion.
The team may be adding up some savings in anticipation of spending big in free agency and to improve team facilities. But it’s hard to feel encouraged by the team’s willingness to spend if fans can’t even get a simple T-shirt.
Seeing the Spurs’ universally beloved court and T-shirt designs for Game 1 from their TV screens probably made Blazers fans feel even more neglected. It probably would’ve been cool for Love and his two-way teammates to have felt the energy at Frost Bank Center live, too.
