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NBA Experts Asking Where Blazers Would Go
Portland is on the league’s lips for the wrong reasons
byDave Deckard
Jul 20, 2026, 7:57 PM UTC
Upon the conclusion of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, The Athletic’s John Hollinger compiled a list of franchises [subscription required] with questions serious enough to make fellow NBA executives go, “Huh?” While the Portland Trail Blazers’ on-court action went beneath notice this year, their off-court issues are apparently causing a stir in league circles
Hollinger began his section on the Blazers by taking the obligatory dig at Portland’s now-famed cheapness
Portland’s new ownership under Tom Dundon has already raised eyebrows with his scorched-earth cost-cutting; you half-expected to see new coach Micah Nori loading basketballs and equipment into a minivan to drive players to their summer-league games. The Blazers, for what it’s worth, stayed at the high-brow Wynn hotel, although their traveling contingent was notably smaller than virtually every other squad’s
The author then speculates that Dundon may or may not want the Blazers to leave Portland before tackling the question that’s apparently dominating conversation over the matter: where would the team go?
Surely the league wouldn’t let Dundon mess up a big expansion payday by grabbing turf in Seattle or Las Vegas. Some have suggested Austin or Nashville, but those two locales appear to be blocked off by the Spurs and Grizzlies, respectively, both of whom seem on track to play multiple “home-ish” games in those two cities in future seasons
Others note that Dundon might access Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., the home arena of the NHL’s Dundon-owned Carolina Hurricanes. However, having been in that building as recently as March, it surely would be an immediate contender for the NBA’s worst. It’s also the old-style “parking lot in the middle of nowhere” model. A recently begun $300 million remodel may improve things on the inside somewhat
After that, the domestic pickings get slim. Kansas City? St. Louis? Bring the NBA back to Rochester or Tri-Cities? None of the places I’ve mentioned appear obviously better than Portland — and a few seem demonstrably worse
The good news: it appears Portland’s new owner would have a challenge in front of him if he wanted to relocate. The bad news: having your team mentioned in conversations like this isn’t ever good news. But it’s just the latest in the saga that appears to be dragging on over an arena, a billionaire deep in negotiations, and the Pacific Northwest’s favorite franchise
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