Blazers

[Merganzer]

There's a conspiracy theory that the league is engaged in some quid pro quo with Dallas for giving away Luka to the Lakers. The Mavericks had something like a 3% chance of winning the lottery. How come the Blazers never do deals like that? I would definitely have given Lillard away for a top draft pick.

They had less than a 2% chance

According to ESPNN it was 1.8, 4th lowest since 1985. For the 7th year in a row, the team with the worst record didn't get the No.1 pick. The lottery was set up to defeat the idea of tanking, and it's working.

[Merganzer]

BLAZERS ANNOUNCED THEY ARE STARTING THE SALES PROCESS!!!!!

Thank god, time for some real leadership with an actual plan!

I'm holding my emotions back until I see who it is to. Don't want egg on my face when it turns out they're selling to a group based in Las Vegas/Seattle....

Does Phil still want the Blazers?

[nogerO]

BLAZERS ANNOUNCED THEY ARE STARTING THE SALES PROCESS!!!!!

Thank god, time for some real leadership with an actual plan!

I'm holding my emotions back until I see who it is to. Don't want egg on my face when it turns out they're selling to a group based in Las Vegas/Seattle....

Does Phil still want the Blazers?

Las Vegas Blazers

[bellsduck]

BLAZERS ANNOUNCED THEY ARE STARTING THE SALES PROCESS!!!!!

Thank god, time for some real leadership with an actual plan!

I'm holding my emotions back until I see who it is to. Don't want egg on my face when it turns out they're selling to a group based in Las Vegas/Seattle....

Does Phil still want the Blazers?

He's not as rich as he was a year ago.

[Phalanx]

Why would the NBA want to allow the sale of the only major sports team in the 22nd-largest market in the U.S. so that it can be the third major sports team in the 42nd-largest market? Especially when that would leave no NBA presence in the entire Pacific Northwest region of the country? That would be dumb. Besides, didn't they extend the lease at the Moda Center for another five years?

[squintsdd]

Why would the NBA want to allow the sale of the only major sports team in the 22nd-largest market in the U.S. so that it can be the third major sports team in the 42nd-largest market? Especially when that would leave no NBA presence in the entire Pacific Northwest region of the country? That would be dumb. Besides, didn't they extend the lease at the Moda Center for another five years?

Well, one reason would be because they plan on expanding back to Seattle at some point, which is somewhere around the 13th largest market. If Portland were to leave for Las Vegas, it would possibly be even larger.

[pezsez1]

I'm not remotely worried about the Blazers being moved. Portland is the #22 DMA and ranks near the middle of the pack for attendance even when we're terrible. Plus with expansion it's a given that Las Vegas and Seattle will be getting teams.

[Duck07]

Few thoughts on this:

- thinking the team won't move because of its media market is pretty funny when the NBA left Seattle for OKC. The league could certainly leave open the door for a new owner to move the team in the future knowing they'll keep a team in the region with Seattle and there's a void in the map around Kansas City when looking at NBA footprints.

- Blazers are probably sold first and used as a baseline for Seattle/LV expansion fees.

- What potential ownership groups would be interested and where are they based? It's not like it was a secret that the team would be sold and if you'd rather be in Sea/LV are you going to bid on what you'd value as possibly the least valuable of the 3 franchises? I also think the league knows who is going to be paying for those cities

- Jensen Huang would seem to be the Billionaire with local ties who could be a majority owner otherwise I think we could be looking at a scenario where the highest bidder is a foreign/overseas owner.

[squintsdd]

Few thoughts on this:

- thinking the team won't move because of its media market is pretty funny when the NBA left Seattle for OKC. The league could certainly leave open the door for a new owner to move the team in the future knowing they'll keep a team in the region with Seattle and there's a void in the map around Kansas City when looking at NBA footprints.

- Blazers are probably sold first and used as a baseline for Seattle/LV expansion fees.

- What potential ownership groups would be interested and where are they based? It's not like it was a secret that the team would be sold and if you'd rather be in Sea/LV are you going to bid on what you'd value as possibly the least valuable of the 3 franchises? I also think the league knows who is going to be paying for those cities

- Jensen Huang would seem to be the Billionaire with local ties who could be a majority owner otherwise I think we could be looking at a scenario where the highest bidder is a foreign/overseas owner.

To add to this, the current moda center lease is only until 2030. The building is old and outdated at this point, so any new ownership will be looking at either updating the Moda Center, or building a whole new arena. If building is in the plans, than moving is certainly possible

[pezsez1]

To add to this, the current moda center lease is only until 2030. The building is old and outdated at this point, so any new ownership will be looking at either updating the Moda Center, or building a whole new arena.

Moda is currently undergoing renovations (new scoreboard and video boards) and ranks in the top half of the league for capacity (maybe even top 10). And it's in a great spot with plenty of nearby parking & rail service. I don't see the arena being an issue for any prospective buyers.

The ownership group will almost certainly be from out of town, but that hardly matters. Paul Allen lived in Seattle and was a fantastic owner. Steve Ballmer lives in Washington and passionately runs the Clippers. The world is a much smaller place when you can hop on a private jet and get wherever you want with no stress or hassle.

Of course there's always the possibility the team could be moved, I'm just not worried about it. There's no real reason to be.

[StevensTechU]

The number of people who sincerely think the Moda Center is in desperate need of renovation has to be less than what I can count on one hand.

[Everythingsducky]

The number of people who sincerely think the Moda Center is in desperate need of renovation has to be less than what I can count on one hand.

Agreed. Unfortunately it’s about keeping up with the Jones’. That, and owners using it as leverage. Moda is fine.

[Boom]

David Stern played a key role into the Sonics relocation. Adam Silver doesn't sound to be as supportive. The Sonics sold for $350 million to a handful of people. The Blazers are likely to sell for 4-5 Billion to an ownership group with dozens of people. Even if Adam Silver gave them the green light (doubtful) it's going to be harder to relocate a team with an established loyal fanbase with that kind of financial risk involved.

[alxtw]

I had given up hope on small market teams ever winning a NBA championship until the NBA finals this year. Yes, it was a down year and some injuries to stars on the usual title contending large market teams. But with competent front office execs, coaches, and owner/s and a clear multi-year building process, i now believe small market teams can organically grow into title contending teams.

[pezsez1]

Blazers legend Jru Holiday is back!

I'm really happy with this move. Anfernee didn't have a place here and Jru will be a fantastic mentor for Scoot.