(Left to right) The new owners of the Portland Trailblazers, Sheel Tyle, Tom Dundon, and Andrew Cherng, make their first appearance at the Moda Center on April 2, 2026.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The business side of the Portland Trail Blazers is restructuring and cutting staff, according to team leadership.
Blazers officials declined to say how many employees were being laid off, but reports from close watchers of the team suggest it’s between 24 and 70.
Dewayne Hankins, Portland Trail Blazers President of Business Operations, confirmed that “several areas of the business” will undergo restructuring, in the first major change to the organization’s staffing since sports and real estate investor Tom Dundon took over as owner earlier this year.
“These changes impacted talented people who have helped shape the Trail Blazers over many years,” Hankins said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for their contributions, their leadership and the care they showed every day for our team, our fans and the Portland community.”
On Tuesday, some business staff members for the state’s only NBA team confirmed on social media that they had been laid off. Among them is Casey Holdahl, the team’s in-house reporter for more than 18 years, who at times appeared on OPB.
Dundon has drawn criticism in recent months for not paying for players on two-way contracts to travel with the team for playoff games, as well as for other policy changes aimed at saving the franchise money.
During an appearance on the Game Over podcast earlier this month, Dundon said he is still learning how the NBA operates. He told Game Over he regrets not having the two-way players travel, but said he stands behind other steps he’s taking to limit travel spending.
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Professional basketball teams often have two main departments: business operations and basketball operations.
While the basketball side may have just a few dozen employees, business operations can employ hundreds.
The Trail Blazers have been a Portland institution since 1970. While the team has only brought one championship trophy to the Rose City in 1977, they have remained popular, including through a playoff streak that lasted more than two decades.
Generations of fans have flocked to North Portland to watch the team play, first in the Memorial Coliseum, then the Rose Garden, now called the Moda Center.
In 1988, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen bought the Blazers. He owned the team until he died in 2018.
The Trail Blazers were then transferred to a trust managed by Allen’s sister, Jody. Earlier this year, the NBA Board of Governors approved the $4.25 billion sale of the team to Dundon’s ownership group.
Even before Dundon purchased the Blazers, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver suggested leaders in Portland and Oregon should be planning “a new arena” for the team.
Since then, and more so since Dundon took over, fears have grown among fans and officials alike that he may move the Trail Blazers to another city.
Dundon has not publicly said if he will push to move the Blazers. The team and its allies have lobbied extensively for public money to renovate the Moda Center.