Tom Dundon just got a little more unpopular in Portland. The Trail Blazers owner gutted the team’s broadcast group after 19 seasons, a move that hit the fanbase right where it hurts. According to Forbes reporter Maury Brown, TV analyst Michael Holton got let go, along with longtime statistician Tom Haberstroh, former ESPN staple and Blazers host Neil Everett, and host Jamie Hudson. Several other broadcasters had their contracts expire and are facing steep pay cuts if they come back. The status of play-by-play man Kevin Calabro and radio voice Travis Demers remains unclear, but both are up for renewal.
This isn’t happening in a vacuum. The Blazers have been awful on the court lately. The broadcast team was one of the few bright spots for fans who stuck around through the tanking. Dundon also gave Micah Nori just a one-year coaching contract, which tells you everything about how tight the purse strings are. People have noticed. Media folks have called it out. Fans online are furious.
Dundon already had a complicated reputation. He owns the Carolina Hurricanes, who just won the Stanley Cup. That should buy him some goodwill, right? Not exactly. He took heat for putting his name and his family’s names on the Cup, which rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. And there’s always been chatter that he might move the Blazers out of Portland. That talk started because he’s been fighting with the city over arena funding. Letting go of beloved broadcasters doesn’t calm those rumors down.
Another Cheap Move in a Long Line of Them
The Blazers didn’t comment for the story. There’s no word yet on who replaces these guys. But the message is pretty clear. Dundon is cutting costs wherever he can, and the people who made the games watchable are the ones paying for it. It’s a bad look for an owner who’s still trying to win over a skeptical city. The Stanley Cup trophy sits in Carolina. The Blazers sit near the bottom of the West. And now the broadcast booth sits empty.
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