Mat Ishbia has given Phoenix Suns fans something Portland Trail Blazers supporters can only wish for right now: the feeling that the owner is on their side.
That contrast is the heart of the conversation around Tom Dundon’s first offseason with the Blazers, and it’s why Ishbia’s recent comments about the Suns hit so hard. Phoenix’s on-court results under Ishbia haven’t exactly been a triumph.
The all-in Kevin Durant move blew up, left the Suns in a deep hole, and they’ve clawed back better than expected thanks to Dillon Brooks and underrated head coach Jordan Ott. Even so, the bigger picture in the West still points toward Phoenix being stuck in play-in territory.
But whatever criticism Ishbia gets for new owner syndrome, Suns fans at least know where he stands.
Ishbia made that plain while explaining why he chose to make Suns games available to stream for free.
"I always look at it as like, I don't own the team; it's the city of Phoenix's team," Ishbia said on the Burns & Gambo Show. "And my job is to make it so everyone loves it and can cheer on the team, and how do I do that?
First off, you can't be a fan of a team you can't watch. So making the TV for free, yeah, I know it costs money, and I make that decision, but I've got money."
That kind of answer cuts straight to the difference. In Phoenix, the owner is talking like a steward of something bigger than himself. In Portland, Dundon has given off the sense that the franchise is more business opportunity than civic trust.
That perception has only grown louder because of the broader uncertainty around the Blazers. There was already plenty of speculation that Dundon preferred an expansion team in Seattle or Vegas and wound up “settling” for Portland because it was cheaper, which fed talk of relocation during arena lease negotiations.
Now the franchise is dealing with the messiest parts of a turbulent offseason. The Moda Center renovation talks remain tense, and the building is widely viewed as outdated. Even if Portland avoids the worst-case outcome and stays in the Pacific Northwest, there’s still a long list of issues to sort through on and off the court.
The cost-cutting angle has not helped. Small decisions can snowball, and the Blazers are already drawing attention for the wrong reasons.
Most recently, they hired Braiden Bell as their new play-by-play announcer, then fired him the same day after past inappropriate posts on social media dating back to his teenage years surfaced. For another franchise, that would be a major offseason story.
For Portland this summer, it feels like one more item in a growing pile.
Dundon did arrive with a reputation that carried some optimism. He had successfully turned around the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and even recently won the Stanley Cup, so there was reason to think he might be an owner willing to spend and support his people. So far, though, Blazers fans have seen plenty of the downside and none of the reassurance.
The good news, at least for Portland, is that the Blazers are expected to remain in the city long-term, especially after receiving backing from commissioner Adam Silver. But the broader problem remains: if the owner isn’t showing real urgency to repair the damage, then every off-court misstep only makes the gap between Portland and Phoenix look even wider.
In Other News...
Blazers Owner Just Raised The Stakes For Portlands New Era
Tom Dundon used a message to season ticket holders to put a clear target on the Trail Blazers next chapter, framing Portlands recent progress as just the beginning. He pointed to the teams 42-win season, its return to the playoffs and a summer that brought in major names, signaling that the organization expects the current momentum to mean something bigger.
The letter also nodded to the anticipation around Damian Lillards return, giving this new era an added layer of intrigue for fans trying to gauge how quickly the Blazers can move from promising to serious contender. Dundon said the team is working to keep the Moda Center among the NBAs best venues, but he did not lay out any specific arena plans, leaving the bigger picture of what comes next open for now. [Read more 🡒]
New-Look Blazers Finally Give Fans A First Real Look
The preseason opener at Moda Center gives Portland its first live look at a roster that has been reshaped enough to feel familiar and foreign at the same time. Against the Warriors, the Trail Blazers begin a schedule that is less about the result than about learning how the pieces fit, and head coach Micah Nori has already signaled that this month will be used to test lineups while sharpening the basics, especially defensive rebounding and taking care of the ball.
The biggest draw is the new backcourt and the way it changes everything around it, with Ja Morant and Damian Lillard now part of the same Blazers picture for the first time. Portland also has other newcomers working into the rotation, so the early exhibitions should offer at least a glimpse of how the offense and defense might look once Nori settles on combinations and the team gets past the first wave of experimentation. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Fans Already Have A New Ownership Controversy To Process
Tom Dundons first months as the Trail Blazers owner already have had plenty going on, with the franchise trying to settle a new direction around Ja Morant, new head coach Micah Nori and a young core that includes Deni Avdija. So when he sent a letter to season ticket holders meant to reassure them about the teams commitment to Portland, it was always going to draw attention beyond the usual routine ownership message.
The problem is the letter itself has now become part of the conversation, not just its intent. Fans who were supposed to be hearing a steadying note about the future are instead parsing how the message was put together, and for a team trying to project stability after a flurry of major basketball changes, that is not the kind of side story anyone in the building wanted to add to the pile. [Read more 🡒]