{"id":723032,"date":"2026-05-01T16:42:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T16:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/723032\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T16:42:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T16:42:19","slug":"portland-trail-blazers-gm-joe-cronin-talks-on-new-owner-tom-dundons-cost-cutting-moves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/723032\/","title":{"rendered":"Portland Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin talks on new owner Tom Dundon\u2019s cost-cutting moves"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin said calling new owner Tom Dundon cheap<\/a> is \u201cjust not an accurate depiction of what his goals are\u201d according to Joe Freeman of the Portland OREGONIAN. He said the team is \u201cgoing to run things more efficiently, in terms of being economically responsible, in terms of having a disciplined less-is-more mentality.\u201d He said he has seen instances where Dundon \u201cwas willing to throw big money on the table in order to support this team.\u201d Cronin added there is a \u201clot of spending fallacies about him\u201d and Dundon is \u201cgoing to spend when it touches the players and the players are always going to be supported.\u201d Cronin called reports of a limited budget for a coach a \u201clittle misleading.\u201d Cronin said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to pay the coach based on some sort of level of shared risk. \u2026 We\u2019re going to be very openminded to what types of people we interview and would potentially bring in. And I\u2019m not concerned about the number at all.\u201d Cronin, on Dundon\u2019s adaptability to NBA ownership, said there are \u201csome things that you\u2019re learning on the fly.\u201d He added, \u201cYou just come in and you may not have a full understanding of how everything moves in this league. And it\u2019s 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\u201d (Portland OREGONIAN, 4\/30<\/a>).<\/p>\n

HIS CALL: THE ATHLETIC\u2019s Devon Henderson noted Cronin \u201ctook the blame for the team\u2019s controversial decision\u201d 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, \u201cThat one\u2019s on me. It was more of a miscommunication on my end.\u201d Players on \u201ctwo-way\u201d contracts received \u201cclose examination amid multiple reports\u201d\u202fof Dundon \u201cenacting cost-cutting measures at every possible corner\u201d since the NBA Board of Governors finalized his purchase of the franchise in late March (THE ATHLETIC, 5\/1<\/a>).<\/p>\n

ON EDGE: SI\u2019s Chris Mannix wrote there is a \u201clot\u202fof anxiety in Portland,\u201d as Trail Blazers employees \u201cwait and see what other\u202fcost-cutting measures\u201d Dundon will implement. Among the future cuts that have been discussed is \u201cpotentially putting some\u202fstaffers up in a less expensive hotel on the road next season.\u201d NBA officials \u201ccontinue to urge patience with Dundon<\/a>.\u201d There is a \u201clot of league-wide pessimism about Tiago Splitter\u2019s chances of retaining the head coaching job\u201d as well as \u201crumblings that the cost-cutting measures will hit, among other places, the Trail Blazers\u2019 broadcast team, which is widely regarded as one of the best in the NBA.\u201d With the Hurricanes, the other team he has a majority ownership stake in, Dundon \u201celiminated the radio broadcast in favor of a television simulcast\u201d (SI, 4\/30<\/a>).<\/p>\n

PAY ATTENTION: In Seattle, Mike Vorel wrote what is happening in Portland could be a \u201ccautionary tale\u201d for the Seahawks \u201cspecifically.\u201d Dundon\u2019s first impression has \u201cbeen frugal to a fault\u201d and Paul Allen\u2019s estate –\u202fwhich will soon sell the Seahawks<\/a>\u202f– \u201chanded him the reins.\u201d Vorel: \u201cThere\u2019s also a reason I wrote this\u202fcould\u202fbe a cautionary tale. \u2026 Because, like it or not, Dundon\u2019s way might work.\u201d The point is \u201cnot to sound alarms\u201d but it is to \u201chighlight how much ownership matters.\u201d Vorel: \u201cI hope the Seahawks\u2019 next owner(s), whoever they are, refuse to cut corners even after the first check clears\u201d (SEATTLE TIMES, 4\/30<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin said calling new owner Tom Dundon cheap is \u201cjust not an accurate depiction…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":723033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3784],"tags":[7,601,6,687,471,3967,16089,1617],"class_list":["post-723032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-portland-trail-blazers","tag-basketball","tag-blazers","tag-nba","tag-portland","tag-portland-trail-blazers","tag-portlandtrailblazers","tag-sustainability","tag-trail-blazers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116500322308359962","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}