It’s been a weird time for Portland Trail Blazers fans over the last couple of seasons, who, despite having a Top 75 player in Dame Lillard on the roster, have failed to make a serious run for a championship in a long time. The Blazers ended up trading CJ McCollum and blowing up their old core, with the coach and the GM also changing in the past year.
And now it seems that change is going all the way to the top, with the franchise in the process of potentially being sold. There were rumors that the current chairman, Jody Allen, sister of Paul Allen, whose fund owns the team, could put it up for sale. Now Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that there has been an offer for the team from none other than Nike co-founder Phil Knight and part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, Alan Smolinisky:
The presence of Phil Knight in the proposed ownership group speaks to its desire to keep the Blazers in Portland and move the franchise forward there. Again, talks are ongoing on the possible purchase of the franchise. https://t.co/6rJ0Rk6AFI
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 2, 2022
“Nike founder Phil Knight and Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky have made a $2 billion-plus written offer to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell ESPN. Discussions are ongoing with the Paul Allen trust that’s overseeing ownership of team.”
“The presence of Phil Knight in the proposed ownership group speaks to its desire to keep the Blazers in Portland and move the franchise forward there. Again, talks are ongoing on the possible purchase of the franchise.”
This is a fair bit of turmoil for a franchise that is looking to rebuild quickly around their superstar Damian Lillard and having already been linked with stars like Zach LaVine, it remains to be seen if a potential change in ownership changes that in any way.
What the fans will care the most about if the franchise is bought is that it stays within Portland, everything else will become secondary, but as per Wojnarowski, Knight’s involvement is good for them in that regard. In any case, these are turbulent times for the Blazers, who will be hoping to come out of it stronger whether the sale goes through or not.
