Portland Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon told season ticket holders in a letter sent Tuesday night that his goal is to deliver an NBA championship to the city. “My intention here is clear: bring a championship to Portland,” Dundon wrote, according to Yahoo Sports. The letter arrived ahead of the team’s preseason opener and just two weeks before the regular season begins.
Dundon bought the Trail Blazers in March 2026 at a $4.25 billion valuation, about seven months before sending the letter. His public declaration comes as the franchise navigates a mix of on-court optimism and off-court controversy, including a broadcaster hiring that collapsed within hours and ongoing friction with local officials over the team’s arena.
Tom Dundon: Trail Blazers To Get A Championship
In his message to fans, Dundon pointed to a Blazers roster that finished above .500 last season and reached the playoffs for the first time in five years. He singled out All-Star forward Deni Avdija, defenders Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan, former No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson, and veterans Jrue Holiday and Robert Williams III as pieces of the current core.
The letter also referenced two major additions. Portland acquired two-time All-Star guard Ja Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies in an offseason trade, and franchise icon Damian Lillard is back after missing all of last season while rehabbing a ruptured Achilles tendon. Micah Nori was hired as the team’s new head coach.
What It Means
Dundon’s letter frames the championship talk against a backdrop of recent personnel upheaval that has little to do with the roster itself. The team fired new play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell, 29, just hours after hiring him on Oct. 3, after racist and misogynistic posts he made as a teenager in 2012 and 2013 surfaced, according to CBS Sports. Bell had previously called games for the Phoenix Mercury and the G League’s Valley Sun, per CBS Sports.
That episode followed Dundon’s decision not to retain longtime Blazers broadcaster Kevin Calabro, who spent 22 years with the Seattle SuperSonics before joining Portland in 2016, according to Bleacher Report. Calabro said he turned down a contract offer he described as not worth his time, per OregonLive columnist Bill Oram. Oram argued that Dundon’s cost-cutting left the organization vulnerable, pointing to more than 70 layoffs including the chief marketing officer who had overseen broadcasts.
Context: Arena Talks And Ownership History
Dundon’s championship pledge also lands amid tense negotiations with local government over renovations to the Moda Center and a proposed 20-year lease running through 2050. During those talks, Dundon and the team pushed for local taxpayers to cover the full cost of renovations and described the local business climate as stagnant, according to Yahoo Sports.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the dispute after a Board of Governors meeting, saying he hopes to lower the temperature in the negotiations and that he would consider it a failure if the Trail Blazers did not remain in Portland.
The broadcaster situation is not the first time Dundon has shaken up a media team after taking over a franchise. He made a similar move with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2018, firing the team’s long-tenured radio broadcast crew after Chuck Kaiton declined to accept a significant pay cut, according to Bleacher Report. Dundon built his fortune in subprime auto loans and also owns the Hurricanes in the NHL.
What’s Next
The Trail Blazers open the regular season on Oct. 21 against the Phoenix Suns. How the team handles its broadcast booth and arena negotiations in the coming weeks will unfold alongside the on-court debut of Morant and the return of Lillard under new coach Nori.
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