Adam Silver says Trail Blazers leaving Portland would be a ‘failure’

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is closely monitoring the situation involving the Trail Blazers under new ownership and said Tuesday it would be a "failure" if the team left Portland.

Negotiations between new owner Tom Dundon and the city have been acrimonious and Silver said a deal that works for both sides must be found.

"I'm offering myself and the league office to assist all parties there," Silver said during a press conference after the NBA Board of Governors meetings in New York. "But as I said, we've had a great track record in Portland, and no doubt in my mind it would be a failure if we weren't able to get to a result that makes Portland basketball, NBA and WNBA, viable for the long term."

Relocation has been speculated about during the adversarial talks. And though the framework for a $586 million renovation of Moda Center is in place, there isn't an agreement in place.

The city of Portland ($120 million) and Multnomah County ($101 million) have approved their financial stakes in the project. The city owns Moda Center.

The state of Oregon committed $365 million to the project but that funding is slated to expire on Dec. 31 if an agreement is not in place.

Silver said an enhanced or new facility is badly needed in Portland. The Trail Blazers moved into Moda Center in 1995. The expansion Fire of the WNBA also play there.

"We need a state-of-the-art arena," Silver said. "I think, by any objective measure, the current building there is in the bottom measure of any arena in the league. And I think everyone in the community acknowledges that, not just for NBA and WNBA basketball, but for all the multi-uses of these modern arenas: concerts, conventions, graduations, you name it."

Silver said he spoke to Dundon about the situation during the meetings and hopes some lessons were learned.

"It's my hope that we can lower the temperature honestly a bit in these negotiations," Silver said. "I had an opportunity to spend a significant amount of time with Tom Dundon while he was here in New York at our meetings. We did discuss the situation around Portland in one of our committee meetings with Tom.

"I think he was able to bounce ideas off other owners who have been through similar negotiations in other communities. I think there's some lessons to be learned there."

Dundon agreed to purchase the Trail Blazers from the estate of Paul Allen in August 2025 for a reported $4.25 billion. He also owns the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.

-Field Level Media/Reuters