Blazers Owner Tom Dundon Under Fire For Massive Reported Lay Offs

In March, the NBA board of governors approved the sale of the Portland Trail Blazers to a Tom Dundon-led investor group. The sale transferred controlling ownership from Paul Allen’s estate to Dundon’s group. The Paul G. Allen estate is also in the process of selling the Seattle Seahawks.

The Blazers had an encouraging season on the floor - finishing above .500 and reaching the playoffs for the first time in five years - but they have been a disaster in the front office.

Dundon has been under fire for being “cheap,” especially after The Rose Garden Report broke that the Blazers did not travel their two-way players to San Antonio for their playoff series in April. The Athletic’s Jason Quick reported that the Blazers were the only NBA team to take that approach, and it was “a move to save on hotels and food.”

“Also, the team's traveling party of support staff was trimmed - the award-winning team photographer and digital reporter did not travel with the team for its playoff series in San Antonio,” Quick wrote.

Quick’s The Athletic piece was entitled “Blazers owner Tom Dundon doesn't care that others say he's cheap,” and his latest move underscores that sentiment.

The Rose Garden Report’s Sean Highkin reported Tuesday that the Blazers have laid off around 70 people. It’s the first round of layoffs under Dundon.

“Talked to one person who survived the cuts today who said it feels like they just looked at a spreadsheet of salaries and cut the highest ones without any regard for what anyone does and how important they are,” Highkin posted on X.

Highkin did not name those who were laid off out of respect for their privacy, but Casey Holdahl confirmed he had been let go. Holdahl served as the Blazers’ team reporter for over 18 years.

“Today, as part of our plans to position the organization for the future, we made the difficult decision to restructure several areas of the business,” Blazers president Dewayne Hankins said, per Joe Freeman. “These changes impacted talented people who have helped shape the Trail Blazers over many years. 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. Our focus now is supporting those affected through the transition and positioning the organization for long-term success.”

NBA fans and media of all kinds are ripping Dundon and the Blazers for such a drastic upheaval, as seen here.

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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 5:29 PM.