Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin said calling new owner Tom Dundon cheap is “just not an accurate depiction of what his goals are” according to Joe Freeman of the Portland OREGONIAN. He said the team is “going to run things more efficiently, in terms of being economically responsible, in terms of having a disciplined less-is-more mentality.” He said he has seen instances where Dundon “was willing to throw big money on the table in order to support this team.” Cronin added there is a “lot of spending fallacies about him” and Dundon is “going to spend when it touches the players and the players are always going to be supported.” Cronin called reports of a limited budget for a coach a “little misleading.” Cronin said, “We’re going to pay the coach based on some sort of level of shared risk. … We’re going to be very openminded to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in. And I’m not concerned about the number at all.” Cronin, on Dundon’s adaptability to NBA ownership, said there are “some things that you’re learning on the fly.” He added, “You just come in and you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league. And it’s a job that I have that I probably need to do better at is just advising and educating and helping him navigate these decisions a little more carefully” (Portland OREGONIAN, 4/30).
HIS CALL: THE ATHLETIC’s Devon Henderson noted Cronin “took the blame for the team’s controversial decision” not to allow its players on two-way contracts to travel with the rest of the team for its first two road games of a first-round playoff series against the Spurs. He said, “That one’s on me. It was more of a miscommunication on my end.” Players on “two-way” contracts received “close examination amid multiple reports” of Dundon “enacting cost-cutting measures at every possible corner” since the NBA Board of Governors finalized his purchase of the franchise in late March (THE ATHLETIC, 5/1).
ON EDGE: SI’s Chris Mannix wrote there is a “lot of anxiety in Portland,” as Trail Blazers employees “wait and see what other cost-cutting measures” Dundon will implement. Among the future cuts that have been discussed is “potentially putting some staffers up in a less expensive hotel on the road next season.” NBA officials “continue to urge patience with Dundon.” There is a “lot of league-wide pessimism about Tiago Splitter’s chances of retaining the head coaching job” as well as “rumblings that the cost-cutting measures will hit, among other places, the Trail Blazers’ broadcast team, which is widely regarded as one of the best in the NBA.” With the Hurricanes, the other team he has a majority ownership stake in, Dundon “eliminated the radio broadcast in favor of a television simulcast” (SI, 4/30).
PAY ATTENTION: In Seattle, Mike Vorel wrote what is happening in Portland could be a “cautionary tale” for the Seahawks “specifically.” Dundon’s first impression has “been frugal to a fault” and Paul Allen’s estate – which will soon sell the Seahawks – “handed him the reins.” Vorel: “There’s also a reason I wrote this could be a cautionary tale. … Because, like it or not, Dundon’s way might work.” The point is “not to sound alarms” but it is to “highlight how much ownership matters.” Vorel: “I hope the Seahawks’ next owner(s), whoever they are, refuse to cut corners even after the first check clears” (SEATTLE TIMES, 4/30).