Leave it to the rich guy to get a job and immediately assume he can do it better than whoever worked it before him. I half-kid, of course, but new Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon does sound supremely confident in his ability to build a winner in Portland, which has been notoriously tough for... Ever.
According to Jason Quick of The Athletic, Dundon told the Blazers that, “Right now, where we are isn’t where I think we can be,” which I must admit sounds a little crazy about a team that has easily surpassed preseason win projections even with a last-second head coaching change.
I understand the approach. The Blazers' franchise has been happy with pretty good for most of the 21st century, and Dundon doesn't seem on board with that approach. If his hard-nosed way of running the team really does create a consistent winner, then I will be elated to give him props.
Still, telling an overachieving team they're not where they should be is an admittedly strange first impression, and Dundon has not been shy in saying that the rebuild is, effectively, over.
Tom Dundon sounds like he's ready to go all-in
Apparently, Dundon "Relies on analytics and gut feeling," also according to Quick, and excuse me if I'm hesitant to trust the gut feeling of a guy who invested $250 million into the Alliance of American Football two months before it ceased operations permanently.
I will give Dundon credit as an owner, though; the Carolina Hurricanes, a team he also owns, have been mainstays in the NHL Playoffs since he took over in 2018 after missing the postseason seven straight years before him. If that's what his results look like with the Blazers, fans will have few complaints.
To reach those results, Dundon sounds like a man who is ready to officially end the rebuild phase for the Blazers and begin an aggressive win-now era. From Anne M. Peterson of The Associated Press:
"We’ve tried to get this message through the last couple of days that that was fun, and probably necessary, but it’s more fun to win,” Dundon said. “It’s more fun to do the things that lead to success and hopefully we’ll start creating more habits, that those processes lead to the kind of winning that I expect, and I think everybody expects."
Not sure if "fun" is the word I would use to describe the Blazers' rebuild prior to this season, and I am admittedly nervous that Dundon thinks this rebuild was "probably necessary" instead of the only path forward for the franchise (which it was).
Everyone in Portland wants the Blazers to win — including, apparently, the team's new owner. His vision for the team's future might ring hollow to fans who know how hard it's been to build a contender in the PNW. But if he can back up his ultra-confident approach, he'll endear himself to the fanbase quickly. That approach does come with the risk of blowing up the progress Joe Cronin and the front office have made to this point, though.
How much say Dundon has in roster-building remains unclear, but I think it's fair to say that Blazers fans hope it's very minimal. Joe Cronin and (currently suspended) assistant GM Mike Schmitz have been patient and intentional with their moves.
The worst thing Dundon can do is pretend like he actually knows anything about basketball and sabotaging the people who actually do. Saying things like, "I want people thinking about the future and not worrying about what I’m gonna do. They need to worry about what they’re gonna do," is at least worth keeping an eye on.