Trail Blazers rumors: Phil Knight, Dyson Daniels, Deandre Ayton, etc.

Phil Knight makes a bid for the Portland Trail Blazers

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Nike co-founder Phil Knight and part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers Alan Smolinisky put together a bid upwards of two billion dollars to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers franchise from Jody Allen and the current ownership group. Allen and co. declined the offer.

The Allen trust also holds claim over the Seattle Seahawks and has been criticized by many, including myself and fans of former star Quarterback Russell Wilson, for being notoriously stingy when it came time to spend extra to improve the team.

With an estimated net worth of $45 billion, according to Bloomberg, and a known interest in sports and competition, Knight would most likely be a more active, involved, and indulgent owner than Jody Allen who inherited the team from her late brother, Paul Allen. Due to this, Blazers fans were understandably disappointed when they learned that Allen refused to sell.

Those who listen to my Trail Babblers podcast know that I’ve been a supporter of Knight taking over the team since John Canzano first reported that the franchise could change hands soon. Not only would having an owner more willing to spend free the Blazers and their management to chase talent without worry over the luxury tax, but Knight’s relationship with Nike could also be a major boon in terms of recruiting. It also doesn’t hurt that Jody Allen’s established a pretty low bar for the next owner to improve upon.

This discrepancy is most likely over the actual price than anything else as the current ownership group had already shown interest in selling the Blazers and shouldn’t care too much as to who the next governor of the team will be. With their collective spending power, I expect Knight and Smolinisky to come back with an offer that Jody Allen can’t refuse soon and Damian Lillard to be a Nike athlete as soon as his contract with Adidas is up.