Bill Simmons has been outspoken about the Trail Blazers staying in Portland. Unfortunately, it's been a seemingly never-ending topic of discussion since Tom Dundon took over as the franchise's new owner.
Tensions between Dundon's Blazers and the city of Portland only continue to rise as the goalposts seem to keep changing with what he ultimately wants. Is it new renovations to an outdated Moda Center? A growing economy around the arena itself? Or even a brand new stadium? It's exhausting to keep up with.
What is Tom Dundon's end goal for the Blazers?
Hopefully the situation gets resolved as the NBA is better off with a team in Portland, and so is the city itself. But with these moving goalposts come the increased possibility that Dundon never even truly wants to get a deal done in the first place.
Simmons raised this concern in a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast that Dundon planned on acquiring the Blazers and moving them somewhere else because it's cheaper than the alternative of purchasing an expansion franchise.
"My fear for people in Portland is that he [Tom Dundon] looked at what the expansion number would be, which everybody's saying is between $7 billion and $8 billion, and he's like, 'Ahh, I can just steal Portland for $4.25 billion and just move them somewhere else.'"
Dundon's group has stated from the start that they have no intention of moving the franchise out of Portland. Unfortunately, his actions have yet to match his words in negotiations that, for the most part, have gotten nowhere.
Dundon is setting a dangerous precedent for NBA owners
Blazers fans should hope he's simply using this possibility of relocation as leverage, which would align with the other drastic and controversial cost-cutting measures he's taken since purchasing the franchise.
But even if Dundon does want to move the Blazers, fortunately it's not that simple. The other owners have to approve a move, and he wouldn't be able to take on the expansion cities in Vegas or Seattle. One city emerging in relocation rumors is Kansas City, but it's still hard to see commissioner Adam Silver letting that happen.
If Simmons' theory is actually true, and worse, Dundon succeeds with this plan, it would set a dangerous precedent for incoming NBA owners going forward. Loyal fanbases like Portland would continue to be destroyed, which is the last thing they should want to happen.
The best way to prevent that blueprint from materializing is to keep the Blazers in Portland -- where they belong.
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