Dundon: Confident, aggressive, impatient and demanding — with a touch of humility
New Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon, flanked by minority owners Sheel Tyle (left) and Andrew Cherng, has big plans for both the Moda Center and his new team
There has already been a lot written from a Portland perspective about Tom Dundon, the new owner of the Trail Blazers, including recent interviews with Jason Quick of The Athletic and Bill Oram of The Oregonian. Dundon made himself available to the rest of us Thursday during a press conference also attended by dozens of Blazer employees and former Blazer players. Dundon’s availability is more than I can say for Jody Allen, who never once spoke publicly to the media during her eight-year run as owner following the death of her brother Paul Allen.
Dundon, 54, is the owner of the NHL Carolina Hurricanes, a Texas native and Dallas resident who made his fortune primarily in the sub-prime auto-lending business. He sat at a dais in the Moda Center’s Rose Room flanked by two of his minority owners, fellow billionaire Sheel Tyle and Andrew Cherng. Seated next to them were Dewayne Hankins, the Blazers’ president of basketball operations, and general manager Joe Cronin.
Tyle, 34, is founder and co-CEO of venture capital firm Collective Global. He has lived in Portland for two years; his wife, Sejal Hathi, has been director of the Oregon Health Authority since late 2023.
Cherng, 77, is co-founder and owner of Panda Express. He lives in Henderson, Nev.
Dundon came off as confident, aggressive, impatient and demanding, yet with a touch of humility to him, too.
He thanked the Allens “for everything they did.” The Moda Center, he said, “is pretty neat. It needs some work, but it’s still something we can be proud of, and improve upon. They have created this legacy that with a little love and care, maybe we can keep making better and better.”
In two sentences, three mentions of the work that need be done. The Oregon Legislature has approved $365 million in state bonds for a renovation project that will begin in earnest during the summer of 2027, leaving the city and Multnomah County to make up the difference of an estimated $600 million price tag. And what if the funding comes up short, Dundon was asked.
“You talking $599 (million)?” he shot back with a smile, drawing laughs. “I have no idea. There is so much nuance that goes into that question in terms of term and timing. I haven’t been part of any negotiations where someone sets a number down and there are no variables. I would expect in this situation there are more variables than just one number.”
So he dodged that question, and another one about him having “no skin in the game” in funding of the arena.
“We are going to negotiate and do a market deal,” he answered. “The people who represent the city and county and their tax dollars are going to do a deal that is great for them, I hope. I am going to try to do the same for the Trail Blazers. We have a good framework and we are moving forward on it. We are going to be fully committed to it. What will be the form and structure of it? There is a lot of work to figure out what that is.”
The question that a number of my readers, and many Blazer fans throughout the region, want an answer to is, will the Blazers remain in Portland? Oram pinned him down with this: “If all those public dollars come through, does that take relocation off the table? “Of course,” was the reply.
When the question came up Thursday, Dundon shrugged it off this way:
“When I bought the hockey team, everybody — because I am from Texas — thought I was going to move it to Houston. That is all I ever heard about. But I never spent any time on that subject, and I haven’t spent any time on anything other than trying to figure out the renovation and the lease.”
The Dean of Portland Sports is now on BlueSky.
Ahh, the nose just grew a little longer, Pinocchio.
I am not suggesting Dundon intends to move the franchise now that it appears he will be getting a state-of-the-art renovation at no cost to him. Tyle, who is as direct as Dundon is evasive, offered this about any possible relocation of the franchise: “(Dundon) wouldn’t have asked me to join this group had that been on the table. I want you guys to know, we met with the mayor today. The state has done some amazing work on this, also. Full speed ahead.”
Earlier, in an article by Quick, Tyle said much the same: “It was very important that the team stay, and for me, that is one of the reasons why I am in it. I don’t want people to be concerned or scared. We are committed to Portland, 100 percent — full stop.”
But don’t believe that Dundon hasn’t spent a smidgeon of time entertaining the possibility of moving the Blazers elsewhere. He would have been a fool not to. And it would make sense that now his doubts about the area, with the legislature and political leaders finally stepping up, have eased.
Dundon professes to have the fans’ best interests at heart.
“I know how lucky I am, with the responsibility to make sure fans and the community are proud of what we do,” he said. “It is about winning, but it is also about how you treat the fans, how long it takes to get into the building, what the food tastes like — all these things are important. I probably think about them more than most. We won’t stop thinking about it ever. And we will continue to try to make the experience here great while expecting to win. Hopefully, you will see that over time.”
“Win” is a word Dundon uses often. His Hurricanes became winners immediately and have made the playoffs in each of his eight years as owner. He clearly intends to make the Blazers into a big winner immediately.
“All the pieces are here,” he said. “The pace at which we want to move, and the expectations, may be different.”
I have a feeling Tyle will be an important sidekick for Dundon. Born in San Diego of India immigrants, he has a bachelor’s degree from Stanford — in human biology and public policy at age 19 — and a doctorate from Harvard Law School. Tyle clearly is a fan of both the Blazers and the city of Portland, and he will be another set of eyes and confidante when Dundon is away from the team.
Tyle told Quick that Dundon intended to tell the players, “Our job is to find somebody better than you. Your job is to make sure that person doesn’t exist.”
That goes for others working for the franchise, too.
“The staff will not be used to this level of intensity,” Tyle said. “I don’t think people are going to like it, actually. I think they’ll be uncomfortable.
“We are going to ask a ton of questions, and we are going to show up. And then based on everything we learn, we are going to institute a culture of accountability and one driven by metrics.”
Dundon addressed the subject in his comments on Thursday.
“I have spent some time with Joe and Dewayne and the people who work with the Trail Blazers, and we are really fortunate,” he said. “It is a group of people who care. There is nothing we can’t accomplish if we start focusing on a little bit of improvement every day.
“The only thing I am kind of worried about is the speed, pace and intensity of which we are about to get going. It might be a little different. We just have to get people there quickly.”
I get the impression if Dundon is convinced something isn’t working, heads will roll. Also, that he doesn’t suffer fools gladly.
Dundon was direct when asked if he wants people to like him.
“Of the things I care about, it’s lower,” he said. “Anybody who says they don’t care what people think isn’t telling the truth. Of course (Dundon does). But I care more about my character than my reputation. I know what I do every day. I want to win and do things without hurting anybody. There is nothing about me that doesn’t want to do the right thing. I do it every day.”
I found one Dundon remark particularly interesting.
“Our plan is to work hard to make good decisions,” he said. “We had a (potential major) deal at the trade deadline that I was made aware of. If that opportunity exists, I am probably more aggressive than most. If it doesn’t exist, then you have to go about finding the pieces to continue to get better and decide whether you’re good enough to win a championship or you have to take a step back.
“There is no one way this is going to go for sure. If we get a star, we have a chance to win. If we can’t find a star, if that doesn’t work, then we have to find some pieces and hope things develop. I think there’s equal chances of all those things to happen.”
Was that trade deadline target Giannis Antetekounmpo? It would certainly have taken Deni Avdija and a collection of other talent to make the deal, but it feels like that’s the kind of thing that gets Dundon’s heartbeat thumping.
But when Dundon was asked if he will be a hands-on owner or more willing to delegate authority, he qualified his answer.
“I don’t know if it’s that cut and dry,” he said. “You can be involved and also delegating, be hands-on and also trust people. I don’t trust anyone to make decisions without information. Joe and I have had a lot of talks about this. There are coaches and scouts and analytics and a lot of people involved in making decisions. I don’t expect to be the decision-maker. The process creates obvious answers. But I will push hard to go through a process that doesn’t leave anyone out.”
Dundon drew a laugh with his answer when asked about how often he will be around the team and at Moda Center.
“I don’t love going to games,” he said. “I get nervous and I don’t want you all taking pictures of my face when something bad happens. I don’t go to many games. In the beginning, I’ll probably be here more. There is so much to learn.
“Over time, I will probably come to the big games. Especially when we are winning more, it’s more fun to come. The more we win, the more I’ll be here. The winning is the part I’m here for.”
Dundon said the expected nice things about interim coach Tiago Splitter, who has handled the team since the second game of the season after Chauncey Billups departed in turmoil. Splitter’s best chance to be retained, in my opinion, is for the Blazers to finish the regular season strong, survive the play-in rounds to make the playoffs and then make a respectable performance in a playoff matchup with either the Thunder or Spurs.
I think Portland will split its final four regular-season games, losing at Denver and San Antonio, beating the Clippers and Kings, to finish 42-40. (During the Blazers’ Tuesday win over the Clippers at Intuit Dome, Portland had five of the six best players in the game, excepting only Kawhi Leonard). If that happens, flagging Phoenix (42-35) will hold onto the seventh seed in the West regardless of the outcome of its final five games. The Suns were 2-1 against the Blazers during the regular season.
I see Portland going in as the West’s No. 8 seed and knocking off Phoenix on the road to gain the seventh spot in the West playoffs. That would earn the Blazers a first-round matchup with either OKC or San Antonio. I don’t envision the Blazers advancing beyond that.
Dundon wasn’t asked about Cronin, who received a multi-year extension after the 2024-25 season. I don’t have a read on how the new owner feels about the GM, who has made some good moves — stealing Avdija from Washington and Toumani Camara from Phoenix, drafting Donovan Clingan — and some bad ones — trading down to draft Yang Hansen, signing Jerami Grant to a five-year, $160-million contract.
I will be surprised if Dundon lets Cronin go immediately, but who knows?
We will find out more about the new owner as the months roll by. I hope he will make himself open to media interaction on a regular basis. I hope he follows through on his promise to fulfill the fans’ needs and make going to the Moda Center a good experience.
Dundon isn’t the only owner who wants to win. We will see how he does putting together an NBA team that can meet his priorities.
► ◄
Readers: what are your thoughts? I would love to hear them in the comments below. On the comments entry screen, only your name is required, your email address and website are optional, and may be left blank.
Follow me on X (formerly Twitter).
Like me on Facebook.
Find me on Instagram.
