Tom Dundon 'went crazy' as he's becoming the latest of unlikable team owners

The current lease, which runs through 2030, makes the Blazers fully responsible in maintaining Moda Center, a bill Dundon wants the public to foot, and also prohibits the team from applying for relocation without the city’s consent and paying hefty penalties to do so. The negotiations were to create a new lease to renovate the 31-year-old arena before a set deadline of Dec. 31.

There are a lot more details about the dispute between the Trail Blazers ownership and Portland officials, but this latest update paints Dundon in a negative light more than ever before.

Tom Dundon has had no problem causing waves in the past

Dundon claimed last week that he’s focused on keeping “the team in Portland,” but his actions have seemed to say otherwise. After his $4.2B purchase of the Blazers was approved in March, Dundon immediately started slashing, laying off nearly 70 employees in May.

The man nicknamed “El Cheapo,” who was reportedly taken aback at the high expense of running an NBA franchise, also refused to let two-way players and a team reporter travel with the team for its play-in game at Phoenix and first-round series against San Antonio during April’s playoffs, forced staffers to check out of their Phoenix hotel by noon to avoid a late checkout charge, being the only team to not provide free T-shirts to fans in the playoffs, lowballing former head coach Tiago Splitter and his below-market rate hiring of current head coach Micah Nori.

On top of all that, he was reportedly having private discussions about moving the club, which he has denied.

To not leave out his other team, the Hurricanes, after winning the Stanley Cup, he famously had his entire family’s names engraved on the trophy, above the names of members of the front office, coaching staff and players who actually contributed to the victory, causing notable omits in the process.

While most Canes fans can roll their eyes at this and still celebrate the team’s championship, some football fans can’t say the same.

In February 2019, Dundon agreed to invest $250M into the Alliance of American Football, claimed the investment would keep the league afloat for years, only invested $70M and pulled the plug on the struggling league two months later. He was later served a lawsuit over claims that he purposely tanked the league for his own tax benefits but won the case and only paid $1 in damages.

What will Tom Dundon’s lasting legacy be?

Dundon’s ongoing dispute with Portland over the future of the Trail Blazers doesn’t seem to have a clear ending and can go one of many ways. The ball is in his court to stop being cheap and keep the team’s 56-year history, and counting, in Portland intact or stop being cheap and pay the out clauses to move the team elsewhere.

With the latest news about NBA commissioner Adam Silver entertaining an expansion bid from Mexico City in efforts to raise Seattle’s bid price, the door is open for the Blazers to move up north and reboot their former rivals, the SuperSonics, although who’s to say Dundon would even pay to rebrand everything.

Regardless, one thing’s for sure. Hurricanes fans should be weary about what Dundon is doing in Portland because if things ever go south, they might be going through the same song and dance Blazers fans are.