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After weeks of scrutiny, Tom Dundon is opening up his checkbook.
Just not necessarily for the Portland Trail Blazers.
On Friday, Pickleball Inc. announced that it has received a $225 million structured investment. Although Apollo Sports Capital led the funding, a source familiar with the matters tells Front Office Sports that Dundon contributed to the $225 million total.
That’s not necessarily a surprise, as Dundon is Pickleball Inc.’s primary majority shareholder. The Dallas-area business mogul has been a prominent figure in the pickleball world, with an empire that includes the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), the Pickleball Central retail website, and PickleballTournaments.com software.
The $225 million investment bolsters the portfolio of Dundon’s Pickleball Inc., which now serves as the parent company of both the PPA and Major League Pickleball. It also brings another NBA presence into the fold, as 76ers owner Josh Harris is the co-founder of Apollo Global Management.
But while Dundon’s presence in pickleball has already been well established, the timing of the transaction could be noteworthy to NBA fans—particularly in Portland.
In the weeks since his purchase of the Trail Blazers from Paul Allen’s estate became official, Dundon has raised red flags with his spending (or lack thereof). Nicknamed “El Cheapo” by The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, the 54-year-old billionaire has been criticized for a series of cost-cutting measures. Such headlines have included the Blazers not bringing their two-way players to road playoff games, Dundon ensuring the team avoided late-checkout fees at its hotel, and not gifting fans at Portland’s home playoff games with customary free t-shirts.
Most pertinent from a basketball perspective, it doesn’t appear that the Blazers will be retaining interim head coach Tiago Splitter, who led Portland to the playoffs after Chauncey Billups was arrested and placed on leave as a part of a federal gambling probe. According to The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer, Dundon doesn’t want to pay the team’s head coach more than $1.5 million—well below market rate for an NBA head coach.
Considering the advantage that an owner with deep pockets can provide in the NBA’s luxury tax era, Dundon’s first month owning the Blazers has understandably raised concerns with fans. And it also doesn’t help that the franchise’s future in Portland is currently in question, with its lease at the Moda Center set to expire in 2030.
Dundon’s playbook, however, shouldn’t come as a surprise to those familiar with his track record. After purchasing the NHL’s Hurricanes in 2018, he made a series of moves that were perceived as frugal, both on and off the ice. But regardless of how much he was trying to protect his bottom line, it’s tough to argue with the team’s results. Carolina has made the postseason in each of the first full nine seasons of his ownership, including first- or second-place finishes in each of the last six years.
Such sustained success would be welcomed in Portland, with the Blazers coming off their first winning season and postseason appearance since the 2020–21 campaign. Still, it’s worth noting that Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix revealed in his report on the hotel fees that “Dundon has expressed sticker shock at some of the costs associated with running an NBA team,” according to sources familiar with the Blazers owner, who hasn’t done much to dispel that notion in his first month in the job.
With an offseason that will be headlined by a head coaching search now underway, Dundon will have ample opportunities to repair his “El Cheapo” reputation. As evidenced by his latest investment, he’s certainly not hurting for cash. Now it’s just a matter of where he’ll spend it.
