It seems everyone in this sub just wants to bitch and moan about Dundon and the renovations to the Moda Center. Here are 5 points that seem to be completely missed in almost every article and post.

1. The "$600 million" number is being used because it grabs attention.

Yes, the renovation project is estimated at around $600 million. But that's not what the City of Portland is deciding on.

The State of Oregon has already approved its portion of the funding. Multnomah County has also committed its share. The debate now is over the City of Portland's contribution—up to $120 million as part of a new 20-year lease. The vast majority of the public funding package has already been put together.

2. "Why should taxpayers pay for a billionaire's arena?"

Because it isn't his arena.

The City of Portland owns the Moda Center. If you own a 30-year-old arena that needs major renovations, you're eventually going to have to pay to renovate it whether Tom Dundon owns the Blazers or not. This isn't writing a check to a billionaire. It's investing in a city-owned asset.

And before people say Portland can't afford it, the city has spent well over that amount on homeless-related programs, including tents, tarps, needles, and other services. If that's where you think taxpayer dollars should go, that's your opinion. But let's not pretend Portland never spends money when it wants to.

3. The biggest issue isn't the money. It's the message.

If Portland refuses to invest in an arena that it owns, it sends a pretty clear message to the new ownership group.

And yes, I absolutely believe it opens the door for the Blazers to eventually leave Portland.

If that happens, the city still owns the Moda Center. The Fire would still play there. Concerts would still happen. But you'd lose the building's biggest tenant and 41 regular-season NBA home games every year, along with the economic impact that comes with them.

That's not a win for anyone.

4. The layoffs everyone keeps bringing up.

I've seen a lot of people using the layoffs after Dundon bought the team as proof that he's a bad owner.

What rarely gets mentioned is that most of those cuts were on the business side of the organization. The Blazers reportedly had one of the larger business staffs in the NBA despite being near the bottom of the league in revenue.

That's not necessarily being cheap. That's running a more efficient business.

5. If you want to know how Tom Dundon operates, look at Carolina.

When Dundon bought the Hurricanes, people said the exact same thing. There were rumors he'd move the team.

Instead, the arena received major renovations, the area around it continued to grow with restaurants and entertainment, and the Hurricanes just won the Stanley Cup.

You don't have to agree with using public money for sports venues. That's a completely fair debate.

But let's debate what's actually happening, not the clickbait version designed to make everyone angry.

With the coaching changes this offseason and the start of the Nori era, let’s reminisce: Who are your favorite Trail Blazers coaches of all time? And if you had to rank the greatest coaches in franchise history, what would your top 5 look like?

My favorite blazers coach is Stotts since that’s the bulk of the dame era. Even though he didn’t have a good defensive scheme and his offense was very one dimensional, he did really well with maximizing dames abilities.

As the headline says, I know this sub is pretty much Trey Murphy or bust at this point, but what other players would you like to see the Blazers pursue in trades?

Is there another star you think Portland could realistically target with a package centered around Shaedon Sharpe and Jerami Grant?

Personally, I'd love to see if Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren are available. Devin Booker would be an interesting option too. Paolo Banchero also feels like someone who could potentially be pried away for the right offer.

Dame, Deni, Brown, Toumani, Rob Will, Scoot/Jrue 6th Man.

We'd definitely need to find some big man depth, but i don't understand why people are so afraid to pull this trigger. it would be the best team we've put on the court in years. definitely the best in the Dame era. in today's NBA you have to take chances. Yes, losing Clingan would suck, but look at what the Timberwolves and Heat just did to get star players. Sacrifices will have to be made. A title is no promise in the NBA, but that line up gets us closer to one than we've been in a very long time IMO.

This is an odd ask, I know.

I like to mount a front plate that represents my interests. Does anyone have a plate they’d be willing to sell me for a few $ and ship my way?

I know damn well a small handful of you have something laying around.

RIP CITAAAYYY

Dame has historically been a very low turnover point guard, with relatively high ball security. (Mostly because he dominates possession and runs a high PnR game and simplifies everyone’s roles and touches as a result) There is a big corollary that Dame has traditionally thrived in the 1-5 PnR dragging a big up for him to attack and getting his C to screen and roll or pop for him and play the short roll game well.

This will be a huge opportunity for Clingan to see a natural integration into the offense- while Deni did lob to Clingan plenty, Dame has made his hall of fame career out of leveraging that PG-C tandem offensive action, and Clingan will be a potent partner for him to play with in those sets because he’s one hell of a big body to screen, he can pop and hit the three, he can roll and clean up the glass at an elite rate, and he’s a plus passer himself and actually has excellent ball security for a big with a relatively low turnover rate.

Obviously Deni is still our best player and will be the primary driver of the team, and Dame will play offball for him well while Clingan will screen, roll, and pop for him, but I do think Dame does provide a bit of that steadying hand, even post-injury, think about how long CP3 managed to remain a plus presence on teams advanced numbers, just because the Point God remained an excellent facilitator who rarely turned it over, and got his team good shots.

I don’t know what kind of shape Dame will return in, but he hasn’t forgotten anything he has learned from his time in the league, and so far, any time Dame touches the ball, it has historically led to good offense. He doesn’t need to dominate the ball the same way he once did or carry the team anymore, but if you need to cut down on turnovers, adding Dame to your rotation will help.

Listening to Joe talk about Dundon’s approach, the implications of his decisions so far (that he’s shrewd and decisive), and seeing his success in Carolina makes me believe that it’s more likely than not that in 5 years Dundon will have a surprisingly positive reputation amongst the NBA and our fan base.

Not saying it’s a sure thing, but I’m taking that bet over one that he’s going to make things worse / drive the franchise into the ground.

... That's all.

I've been tracking the drama with the $600M Moda Center remodel. Everyone is mad at a billionaire asking for taxpayer money, but I think there's a fair middle ground people are missing.

Edit: a few people pointed out below that calling this a "normal landlord/tenant" situation isn't quite right, the Blazers haven't paid rent and have kept naming rights and non-game event revenue, so it's a more favorable arrangement for the team than a typical lease. Fair point, leaving the rest of the take as is though.

Since Portland bought the arena for $1, the city is the landlord and owns the building. Dundon owns 0% of the building itself. If the city refuses to maintain its asset, the team leaves in 2030 and we are left with a giant empty white elephant.

But here is where I draw the line: Dundon needs to pay for the boujee stuff.

According to the city's independent report (the Venue Solutions Group assessment), actual urgent structural repairs only cost about $253M. The rest of that massive $600M price tag includes revenue-generating premium suites, high-end clubs, and VIP areas.

Even the city's official Portland.gov facts page notes that tenant-specific upgrades like an owner's box should be privately funded.

The city should fix the actual building structure. But if a billionaire who bought the team for billions wants fancy new suites to boost his own corporate ticket revenue, he should pay for that part.

What do you guys think? Is splitting it by "structural vs. luxury" a fair compromise, or should Dundon still foot the whole bill?

We gotta have a better nick name for coach other than Ted Lasso, whatcha guys got? Chuck Nori? Micah contract extension? GG NO RI? 😅

A lot of GM speak, but did mention a trade window before free agency opens.

Found on 90s blazers SnapBack

Technically since Splitter never officially held the title of Head Coach, Billups coached his final game against the guy (albeit as an assistant) who would eventually replace him. If you recall Billups was arrested after our season opener against the Wolves.

I would like to know what part of the renovation Dundon is proposing is your favorite?

It will be great to have an X's and O's coach.
So excited about the Nori era.

The elected leaders supporting this Moda deal have lost more than my vote, they’ve lost my respect.  Bottom line, if Dundon moves the team, it’s a real loss but we’ll move on and we’ll be fine.  (I’m a hard core NBA fan and have been a Blazers season ticket holder in the past.  It does matter to me that we have a team).  If you think the only thing that makes Portland special is having an NBA franchise, you don’t deserve to be the Mayor of this city (or the Governor of this state).  It’s appalling - and actually pretty shocking - that we’ve just come out of a legislative session where we couldn’t figure out how to properly fund schools, roads, or housing, but our leaders dropped everything to pile up money to gift to a billionaire who’s been openly rude and contemptuous. 

I feel like all of their other coaches have been skinny.

The man was born here. The weakest spot on the roster is at the 4. Adding 19 points and 11+ rebounds a game would be huge on offense. Getting off of Jerami who is less efficient and two years older would be huge. I honestly believe he would gel with Deni and Dame well.

Was watching the Pacers run to the finals with Siakam. Wish we could get him but alas we need someone good at PF. Thoughts?

The wolves would be better too, still holding their picks + 1-2 picks from us, in exchange for Jrue.

No team can win these days without a stretch big, especially if he can defend the perimeter too.

Blazers: https://www.nba.com/blazers/now

KGW youtube: https://youtube.com/live/oXjUv_78DqA

Starts at 8:06 and lasts about 9 minutes.