The Portland Trail Blazers laid off an unspecified number of employees on the business side of the organization as part of a restructuring by new ownership.
The Blazers confirmed the job cuts in a statement to The Oregonian on Wednesday but did not specify an exact number or their job duties.
ESPN called the reduction in force “significant,” with local media pegging the number at more than 70 employees.
“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 told the newspaper in a statement. “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.”
A group led by Tom Dundon, owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, finalized the acquisition of the team from the estate of Paul Allen for $4.25 billion on March 31. The Dundon group vowed to keep the team in Portland as a condition of the sale, but ownership has been called out by critics for being what they perceived as cheap.
For example, the Blazers left two-way players at home when they traveled to San Antonio for the first round of playoff games, asked some personnel to avoid extra hotel fees by checking out early, and did not drape T-shirts on seats at their home arena when the Spurs visited in a now-NBA playoffs tradition. After criticism, the team handed out black-and-red towels.
Speaking on the “Game Over” podcast last week, Dundon said the Hurricanes spend $100 million less than the Blazers annually — and that does not include player costs — and have put a playoff-caliber team on the ice.
“The Hurricanes, since I bought the team, have the first- or second-best record in the league,” Dundon said on the podcast. “So I’m just not going to waste $100 million just because somebody wants to write an article calling me cheap. I’m just not going to do it.”
Carolina swept the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They will meet the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the Eastern Conference final on Thursday.
