Another wave of cost-cutting moves has hit owner Tom Dundon\u2019s Portland Trail Blazers, as the team\u2019s broadcasting department is losing several high-profile names.<\/p>\n
Veteran play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Calabro said his contract expired June 30, and after receiving a low contract offer Monday, he decided to step away after nine seasons in Portland.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an easy decision: not worth my time,\u201d Calabro told The Athletic. \u201cWhich is sad, because the roster and the people there are great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calabro, who has called Trail Blazers games since 2016 after a 22-year run as the Seattle SuperSonics\u2019 play-by-play man from 1987 to 2008, said he is not retiring and will \u201ccontinue working on the craft.\u201d The Oregonian first reported Calabro\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n
Travis Demers, the team\u2019s radio play-by-play announcer, was not retained by the team after his contract expired on June 30. A return in a lesser role has not been ruled out, according to a team source who spoke on condition of anonymity in describing ongoing deliberations. Demers has called Blazers games for the last seven seasons.<\/p>\n
Demers\u2019 radio partner, Michael Holton, was let go after 19 seasons with the team. Holton, who played for the Trail Blazers from 1986 to 1988, spent the last nine seasons as the radio analyst while also serving as a co-host for the halftime and postgame television shows.<\/p>\n
The team also parted ways with Neil Everett, the former ESPN anchor who has been the television studio host for road games since 2021. Jamie Hudson, who co-hosted with Everett, was also let go after five seasons with the team. Tom Haberstroh, who for the past three seasons has given statistical analysis during television broadcasts, was also not brought back.<\/p>\n