NBA teams are billion-dollar operations. So if a franchise decides to save its pockets from burning, it’s usually not THAT big a deal because fans attending games don’t feel it. However, the Portland Trail Blazers’ new owner, Tom Dundon, is going the extra mile in unprecedented ways. After finalizing a $4.25 billion deal with the Paul G. Allen estate in September last year, the billionaire NBA owner is already involved in day-to-day operations. Is he really making a positive difference, though?

The Trail Blazers returned to the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 season. All thanks to Deni Avdija, who emerged as the knight in shining armor in Damian Lillard’s absence. However, Game 1 against the San Antonio Spurs didn’t go as planned for them. They lost 111-98. But before Sunday’s game, insider Sean Highkin revealed a head-scratcher: at Dundon’s request, the team left their two-way trio at home. And it has nothing to do with fitness or eligibility…

Caleb Love, Chris Youngblood, and Jayson Kent are the three names. Among the seven traveling teams, only Portland went without its two-way players in Games 1 and 2. Although they are playoff-ineligible, their presence at practice matters. At the same time, Highkin labeled the move “insulting” for a very specific reason.

Love, the 24-year-old Missouri native, played over 1000 minutes for this team. They wouldn’t have finished the regular season over .500 without his contributions. He quietly became a lifeline for Portland when injuries piled up. For instance, he torched the Golden State Warriors on November 21, dropping 26 points and drilling six threes, while Jrue Holiday and Shaedon Sharpe were both dealing with calf injuries. Then, on January 3, he followed it up with 16 against the San Antonio Spurs. Love brought that scoring punch and steady guard play when the Blazers needed balance the most.

Then again, the new team owner didn’t stop at keeping his players at home. Dundon, who is worth an estimated $2.3 billion, is taking more actions in-house at the franchise. After a five-year playoff absence, the Blazers’ return to the Moda Center feels oddly restrained. That’s because the locals who attend Games 3 and 4 won’t get free postseason shirts. It’s the first time in recent memory that a team has not administered free shirts at playoff games. “We aren’t doing t-shirts because we are doing something else,” Co-owner Sheel Tyle said on Friday. If you were to look at other teams, the Suns had purple shirts draped on the backs of every seat since the play-in tournament. The Spurs have also promised their fans shirts for every home game.

Meanwhile, under Dundon, his team staff was asked to check out early in Phoenix on Thursday, and they lingered in hotel lobbies to avoid late fees, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Sure, late charges sting; however, paired together, these moves paint a surprisingly tight-fisted playoff picture. There’s more to this new chapter in the NBA. Reports swirl around Dundon and his tight monetary grip on the Blazers’ coaching search. After authorities linked Chauncey Billups’ October arrest to a sports gambling probe, Portland launched its hunt, regardless of Tiago Splitter taking over on an interim basis.

However, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line says that Dundon is ready to offer his new coach a salary between $1 and $1.5 million annually. That figure sits far below the usual $4 million NBA benchmark and mirrors assistant coach salaries across the league. Meanwhile, Splitter, the 2014 champion with the Spurs, steadied the team as interim and guided a young roster into the playoffs. Yet, his future remains uncertain. Fischer reports that Portland has contacted nearly 20 international and college candidates, but with many Power 4 coaches already earning more than $1.5 million, it further complicates negotiations.

Interestingly enough, Dundon’s decisions came at a time when the Trail Blazers’ home arena, Moda Center, was about to undergo a complete makeover. Most importantly, the new owner, on his very first day, made one thing clear to everybody: the standard is changing in Portland.

Tom Dundon is carving his own path in the NBA; what does he plan to do with the Trail Blazers?

On his first day as the owner of the Portland Trail Blazers, Tom Dundon sent a clear message to the team through The Athletic. “Whatever we’re doing, we’re trying to do better, and you just keep going and going. I’m just obsessed with trying to find a way to get better. I can’t handle losing,” Dundon said. “I can’t handle thinking something could be done better. And if you get all the players and the coaches and the staff, everybody thinking that way … you should get better.”

Dundon, who also owns the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, is known as a demanding, calculated owner who relies on analytics and gut instinct. He acknowledges the Blazers players’ talent pool and NBA status, yet signals dissatisfaction with their current level. He emphasizes raising standards, effort, and daily discipline. He frames improvement as non-negotiable and expresses confidence that his leadership will drive change. Moreover, his track record speaks for itself. Since taking over, the Hurricanes have made the playoffs in seven straight seasons and made the Eastern Conference final three times.

“I think the organization, the last couple years, has been in a different place than they are now, where now it’s starting to build,” Dundon said. “Now we’ve got to get past those old habits that maybe weren’t as focused on the best outcome. So, pushing people past what they think is possible, and then doing it again and again and again. I don’t know, I just … I just do it.”

Now, it’s hard to decipher what Dundon’s vision is following his strict cost-cutting measures. Is he looking deep into the future? Maybe. However, fans aren’t particularly happy, especially after leaving Caleb Love at home. Because the two-way star was truly the team’s MVP at one point when injuries had them in a chokehold. Well, the decision might hurt their playoffs, and that would be such a heartbreak for the team that just made it through after five years.