Nevertheless, several groups interested …

Nevertheless, several groups interested in prying away the Blazers in a sale have made their interest known to the Paul Allen Trust and league office, sources said. Perhaps, though, no prospective group has the cache and star power in the Pacific Northwest as a Phil Knight-led bid. Knight’s deep ties to the region — with Nike and his support of his alma mater, the University of Oregon — reflect the prospective ownership group’s desire to keep the team in Portland for the long term, sources said.

Phil Knight, Alan Smolinisky makes $2 billion-plus offer to purchase Blazers from Paul Allen’s trust

Adrian Wojnarowski: Nike founder Phil Knight and Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky have made a $2 billion-plus written offer to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell ESPN. Discussions are ongoing with the Paul Allen trust that’s …

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Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
Nike founder Phil Knight and Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky have made a $2 billion-plus written offer to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell ESPN. Discussions are ongoing with the Paul Allen trust that’s overseeing ownership of team. Story soon. – 3:09 PM

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A sitting team president of an NBA franchise told me it’s unlikely that the league’s owners would allow the Trail Blazers to relocate to Seattle after a potential sale. “That’s a no-go,” he said. The prevailing sentiment is that Seattle and Las Vegas have already been unofficially earmarked for NBA expansion and the current owners would prefer to avoid cannibalizing what would be a windfall of $6 billion in combined expansion fees. -via John Canzano / May 26, 2022
A number of potential ownership groups have been rumored to be interested in pursuing the Trail Blazers. Among the names that I have heard as possible majority owners: Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and Laurene Powell-Jobs. Ellison has unsuccessfully attempted to buy NBA teams on three occasions. Scott is the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Powell-Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, is an executive and businesswoman. -via John Canzano / May 26, 2022

 

Phil Knight, Alan Smolinisky makes $2 billion-plus offer to purchase Blazers from Paul Allen’s trust