On sale of the Blazers and a potential new arena, Tinker Hatfield, Dame’s new gig, Nate Engel’s new gig and Joe Dominey’s ride
Updated 8/9/2025 11:05 PM
• Item: The $3.5-billion question: Will Paul Allen’s estate sell the Trail Blazers to an owner who will keep the team in Portland?
Comment: I have been asked this question more times than any other since the local NBA club was put up for sale in May.
My answer is, I don’t know.
The next question: What do you think will happen?
My answer is, it is about even money either way.
Do I think Jody Allen and Bert Kolde will make it a priority to sell to owners who will commit to keep Rip City in the Rose City? I have no faith in them doing the right thing, not at all.
Might they decide to sell it to ownership that prefers to move the franchise 180 miles up the road? Could be.
There are rules about relocation of an NBA franchise. It would require approval of the NBA Board of Governors, and it would have to be approved by a two-thirds vote of the league’s owners. Would the owners reject moving a franchise that has been successful and well-supported through 55 years to a larger metropolitan area that would provide the potential for greater revenue for the league? Possibly, but probably not.
The movers and shakers behind the upstart “Rip City Forever” movement understand that there is little the NBA can do to prevent Allen and Kolde from selling out to ownership that intends to move the franchise out of Portland. The group’s intent is to push the powers-that-be representing the city of Portland and the state of Oregon to get off their ass and facilitate a public/private partnership that can either fund a major renovation Moda Center or get a new multi-use arena built — preferably the latter. This would make Portland more attractive to a prospective owner considering a move to a larger media market.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said recently that the league prefers that the Blazers stay in Portland, but that “the city likely needs a new arena. So that will be part of the challenge for any new ownership group coming in.”
Former Blazer Chris Dudley heads a “Rip City Forever” leadership group that includes former Blazer president Marshall Glickman, former Blazer vice president Erin Hubert, Burgerville investor/former Dutch Bros. CEO Joth Ricci and marketing agency founder Ryan Buchanan.
Chris Dudley
“We thought it was important to ring the bell,” says Dudley, a founding partner of Filigree Wealth Advisors who lives in Sisters. “The city of Portland and state of Oregon is in a national competition for the Blazers. The game has already started. It is up for auction. Let’s be prepared and show why Portland is the best place for the Blazers.”
After RCF officials made public their intentions, the offices of mayor Keith Wilson and governor Tina Kotek sent a joint letter to Silver expressing their strong desire to keep the Blazers in Portland and support for renovating Moda Center through a public/private partnership.
Honestly, though, renovation is probably not enough. Moda Center, opened in 1995, is the oldest building in the NBA not to have undergone a significant renovation. A new arena would be the ideal way to get the full attention of prospective ownership and help convince them to stay in one of the smaller markets in the league.
“If we want to be a world-class city,” Glickman says, “we should have a world-class arena.”
The loss of the Blazers would be a double-edged sword to Portland. It would be a dagger to both the city’s economy and also to its psyche.
“The last few years have been a tough time for the city,” says Dudley, the gubernatorial candidate in the 2010 Oregon governor’s race. “It would be devastating to lose the team. We just can’t let that happen.
“This is a generational moment in our state. A change of ownership (of an NBA team), and a potential new arena, happens maybe once every 30 or 40 years. These are big moments. It’s about how are we going to rise up to this moment.”
I applaud the efforts of Dudley and his group, who are scheduled to soon meet with the offices of both Kotek and Wilson. In this situation, a full-court press beats a four-corners slowdown any day.
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• Item: Damian Lillard named as general manager for Weber State basketball.
Comment: It was less than two weeks ago when Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups said Lillard — who will miss the 2025-26 season while rehabbing from Achilles tendon surgery — would become “the highest-paid assistant coach in (NBA) history.”
“I want to have an impact, still be present on the team,” Lillard said then while addressing the media after his trade to Portland from Milwaukee. “With this being a younger team, there are things I can share without having to be on the floor (playing). That will be my main job this year. I will be like an assistant coach, but my investment in the team will be the same as if I were playing.”
Now Weber State, Lillard’s alma mater, announces that Lillard “is stepping into a leadership role that will help shape the future of Wildcat hoops. Serving as a key advisor and mentor to the team, he will work closely with the coaching staff.”
At a media availability in Ogden, Utah, Lillard says he knows “a lot of ways I can assist the program, assist the players, assist Coach (Eric) Duft … It was good timing for that (and) another way for me to stamp myself in there as a resource to the program.”
The news has some fans excited.
“What a dope way to spend his season off and give back to the community yet again,” commented one fan on a website story. “Such a fantastic dude.”
But wait a minute. Lillard’s job through the 2025-26 season is to get healthy, so he can return in good physical shape for the 2026-27 campaign. That means devoting himself to rehab, right? But now he has committed at least part of his attention to the Weber State basketball program.
Does this mean Lillard will be bouncing between Ogden and Portland next basketball season? Will he be just a figurehead at Weber? Is it a ceremonial position, or will he take an active role, which would certainly require a good amount of time and attention? What about his intentions to mentor young Blazer guards such as Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe?
NEW: The Dean of Portland Sports is now on BlueSky.
With the added responsibility, will Lillard have enough time to focus on rehabbing his foot so he can be fully ready to play in 2026-27? Perhaps Dame has made a deal with Billups and general manager Joe Cronin that he will head for Ogden only when the Blazers go on an extended road trip next season. It would make sense that he will have to do most of his rehab with the team’s training and medical staff in Portland.
Steph Curry and Trae Young are taking on similar positions at their alma maters, at Davidson and Oklahoma, respectively. Both are assistant GMs, though, which would seem to require less involvement than what Lillard is getting into. It doesn’t sound as if Weber State is expecting Lillard’s role to be minor.
Also, isn’t part of Dame’s goal to be in Portland is the chance to be around his children more? It would seem like taking on an out-of-town responsibility would be flying in the face of that.
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• Item: The name behind the Damian Lillard Basketball Camp actually has a major role with the camp.
Comment: The 12th annual version of the week-long camp for six-to-16-year-olds was staged at the Beaverton Hoop last month, and there were plenty of coaches on hand to work with the kids. But Lillard didn’t just make a cameo appearance, reports friend Jon Blumenauer, a former Grant High guard who lives in Portland, scouts for the San Antonio Spurs and has worked a number of camps through the years. Jon’s 12-year-old son Quinn participated in the Lillard camp this year.
“Damian was really involved,” Blumenauer says. “Other people run the camp, but he is there all day, even limping around after (Achilles tendon surgery), and is very approachable. He takes the mic and engages the kids. I appreciate his involvement and messaging – more from a parent’s perspective than a basketball one. I have been really impressed, as well as with many other things about him.”
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• Item: In July, the Nike Air Jordan XL (40) was released for public sale. It retails for $205.
Comment: That got me to thinking about Tinker Hatfield, the Nike vice president of design and special events, who through the years has designed “22 or 23” models of the shoe named for Michael Jordan.
We hadn’t talked in about three years, since we did an interview about Oregon’s “Division Street” NIL collective. When we spoke this week, he told me about a catastrophic brain injury he suffered two years ago — shortly after his 70th birthday — in a biking accident while participating in a “Pole Pedal Paddle” fund-raising event in central Oregon. Tinker is still recovering.
“I have been in and out of treatments and have continued to have issues — headaches, anxiety, depression,” says Hatfield, who lives in the Alameda district of Northeast Portland. “The injuries to my body have healed, but the brain problem is still hanging on. It has been a rough two years. I guess it is part of my journey to the end.”
Hatfield, now 72, remains a vice president/design and special projects for Nike but is on extended injury leave.
“They have been great to me,” he says of Nike executives. “They say, ‘You have done a lot for us; now we are hoping you can heal up and get back to working full-time, but only when you feel ready for it.’ I am doing better psychologically, but I am not there yet. I am working, but only in bits and pieces.”
Tinker is doing some work in design, but also with speaking engagements a couple of times a month, both to Nike employees and outside groups on behalf of the company.
“Very few people can tell stories about how things were done in order to achieve the kind of success we have had,” he says. “Everybody wants to learn how to be as successful as possible. That’s fun. I get up for that. It has been a worthwhile endeavor for my psyche.”
As for Jordan, “we still speak occasionally,” Tinker says. “We last spoke during the NCAA basketball finals, because the matchup was unique.”
Florida beat Houston 65-63. They are both Jordan Brand programs.
“We have had Nike school against Jordan school, and Nike against Nike, but never two Jordan Brand schools,” Hatfield says. “Pretty cool. I called him up. We chatted about it for a few minutes. Then we texted back and forth as the game went along.”
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The Engels. Front row, Breck, Brody and Bryson. Back row, McKayla and Nate (courtesy Nate Engel)
• Item: Oregon State associate head wrestling coach Nate Engel has left to coach in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program in Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Comment: For five years, Engel was an integral member of Chris Pendleton’s staff at OSU, a coach, a recruiter and a mentor to many athletes. He and wife McKayla have three young children, however, making an all-encompassing job and family life difficult.
“Coaching college wrestling is so time-consuming,” says Engel, 42. “My kids are getting older. This gives me more of a chance to be a husband and a father. I loved Oregon State, every bit of it. I was doing everything, though, and I got burnt out.”
Engel has a history with the military. After graduation from Missouri Valley College, where he was an NAIA All-American, he entered the Army and was part of the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) for six years. He coached at Air Force and Navy before stints at Stanford and OSU.
Engel, a national-caliber Greco-Roman wrestler who was named Greco-Roman Coach of the Year in 2019, will be working primarily with women in the WCAP program at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
“It’s an exciting opportunity,” Engel says.
With 10 years of military experience, Engel needs 10 more years with the Army program to be in position to retire as a veteran and receive full military benefits.
“The financial piece made too much sense,” Pendleton says. “It’s bittersweet for us. Any time you lose somebody who has been as important and valuable to our program as Nate has, it’s hard. But you can’t be upset when he is trying to provide for his family.”
Even so, Engel says it was a difficult decision.
“I love Corvallis, I love Oregon State and I love Chris,” he says. “He is one of my best friends. I cried my eyes out when I told him I was leaving. I cried when I told (the wrestlers). I raised my family there for five years. I am going to be a big fan. I will try to come to some home duals and go to the NCAAs and cheer them on.”
On Tuesday, Engel was working with Oregon State freshman Joel Adams, who was at the USOTC preparing for the U20 Greco-Roman World Championships in Bulgaria. Engel will accompany Adams there, but will fly in three days early to watch another Beaver, Justin Rademacher, the 2025 Pan-American champion at 213 pounds, wrestle there. In October, Engel will go with OSU heavyweight Aden Attao for the U23 World Greco-Roman Championships in Serbia.
“Those guys come to camps here all the time,” Engel says. “I will be working with them when I can.”
Pendleton says OSU is going through the hiring process to replace Engel. Josh Rhoden, also an associate head coach, and assistant Cory Crooks remain on the staff.
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Dominey after his ride, mimicking the champion’s pose of Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar. “Flutter” is an Irish online gambling company, the primary sponsor of Joe’s team (courtesy Joe Dominey)
• Item: Joe Dominey completes his bicycle ride in “Tour 21,” a fund-raiser for “Cure Leukemia” that took him through the same course as competitors in the 2025 Tour de France.
Comment: The former Linfield defensive lineman, 52, took on the challenge of his lifetime, participating in the 21-stage event that covered 2,170 miles in 23 days, with climbs and summits in the Massif Central, the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Jura.
Dominey rode with a group of 15 amateur cyclists from eight countries, and they all completed the grueling ride.
“We came out of a tunnel and saw the Eiffel Tower, and it was a breathtaking moment,” Dominey writes. ‘Truly amazing! We had made it — all of us.”
Dominey received donations of $45,500 for his ride, with the money going to fund drug trial research for “Cure Leukemia.” In total, the team of 15 riders raised more than $1 million.
It was the most difficult undertaking of his life, Dominey says.
Joe Dominey riding past the Arc de triumphe, a national symbol in France (courtesy Joe Dominey)
“An amazingly beautiful and savagely brutal experience, all in one,” he says. “I am grateful to have had the opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Glad to have done it, but never again. I am going back to time-trialing, riding super fast for 25 miles. I may never ride 100 miles again, but I will ride my bike, because I absolutely love it.”
From Joe’s Journal:
From NBC Sports/Peacock’s three features on Tour 21:
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
