Blazers coach Chauncey Billups agrees to multi-year extension
April 13 - Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has agreed to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Sunday morning.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed for Billups, who is concluding the final guaranteed year of his contract.
The move comes six days after the Trail Blazers reached a multi-year extension with general manager Joe Cronin.
"I want to thank (Trail Blazers chair) Jody Allen, (vice chair) Bert Kolde and Joe Cronin for their belief in me as we all progress on this journey of creating a sustained winner for years to come," Billups said. "We are building this team the right way with a defensive-minded, hard-nosed, competitive culture. I look forward to continuing to give Rip City fans a product on the court that they can be proud of and cheer for every night."
Billups has guided Portland to a 35-46 record entering its season finale against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon. The Trail Blazers won just 21 games last season.
A Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member, Billups owns a 116-211 record during his four seasons as the coach of the Trail Blazers. He replaced Terry Stotts, who took the Blazers to the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons as the coach.
"The core of Chauncey's leadership is his ability to build a collaborative culture and growth mindset for our young team," Allen said. "We're very happy to extend his contract as head coach, and excited to see his continued work developing our players and transforming this team into one capable of long-term success."
Billups, 48, was named the NBA Finals MVP in 2004 while helping the Detroit Pistons to the league title. He was a five-time All-Star during his career with the Pistons, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks, spanning from 1997-2014.
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Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Nike founder Phil Knight reveals his stance on Trail Blazers takeover... as club is put up for sale three years after he first tried to buy it
After being owned by Paul Allen in some capacity since 1988, the Portland Trail Blazers are set to be put up for sale. Allen, the late co-founder of Microsoft, bought the team over three-and-a-half decades ago and his estate has owned the Blazers since his passing in 2018. But now, Allen's family will be looking to sell off the team - prompting many to wonder if Oregon 's richest person, Phil Knight, would be buying the franchise. However, the 87-year-old Knight released a statement saying he has no intention of purchasing the team. The Nike founder previously expressed interest in purchasing the team in the aftermath of Allen's death, but says that his current age has dulled his desire to own the Blazers. 'Five years ago, when I was a younger man, I had a great interest in being a part of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise,' Knight said in a statement. 'However, at my current age, I can confirm that I no longer have interest.' After initially expressing interest in a purchase back in 2020, Knight and Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky put forth an offer of more than $2billion to buy the team. However, the Allen estate was not interested and never had conversations to sell. According to Allen's will, control over his stakes in three professional sports teams are under the purview of his sister. As such, his sister has hired investment bank Allen & Company and law firm Hogan Lovells as advisors for a sale. Forbes values the team at $3.5billion. Allen purchased the team in 1988 for only $70million. Only the Trail Blazers are up for sale. A statement from the NBA team confirmed that the Allen estate's controlling stake in the NFL's Seattle Seahawks is not for sale, nor is the 25 percent stake in MLS' Seattle Sounders. The Blazers' statement says that the process of selling the team is expected to continue into the 2025-26 NBA season. Once an agreement on a deal has been reached, the NBA Board of Governors has to ratify a final purchase agreement. All proceeds from the sale are set to be donated to philanthropic causes, as per the wishes of Allen's will.
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- The Guardian
‘July BBQ written all over it': Do US Soccer's new kits hit the mark?
The primary kit, white with a star print, will be worn only by the US women to start. Dubbed the 'Brilliant Kit,' the marketing pitch says it's a 'tribute to the trailblazers who have shaped soccer and inspired generations. Star details are drawn directly from iconic past WNT kits, fused with a modern silhouette to reflect the optimism, leadership, and evolution of the game.' Does the kit accomplish this, to you? I appreciate Nike saying the modern silhouette is reflecting all of those very nice-sounding buzzwords and not just 'we put this design on one of our current kit models instead of reproducing shirt sizes from 1999 because no one wants to run around in baggy polyester any more.' Are the star details from past USWNT that are referenced supposed to be the stars they got from winning World Cups? If so, that's a good flex. Unfortunately, the biggest visual reference this one conjures to me is the '94 men's denim kit (which the women did not wear – the USWNT and USMNT designs didn't match up until a couple decades later). I like the retro feel of it all and so that look-back-at-the-past direction succeeds. I can do without the rest of the blurb. AS I think it does accomplish all that, though I imagine most, including myself, would say the most clear comparison is to the 1994 men's World Cup kit. It's got the same denim blue and a patchwork of stars. Though this time the stars look much less clip art-inspired. JF This kit absolutely feels like a tribute to past generations of American soccer. On that front, they knocked it out of the park. The stars definitely draw the mind more immediately to the men's 1994 World Cup kits, though, as opposed to any star-laden WNT kits. That said, the women are the only ones with stars above their crest, so it makes sense for them to have a star-spangled jersey. MS I mean … it's a white US home kit. I don't know that they're necessarily paying tribute to anything as much as they're maintaining tradition. And that's fine! Tradition is good. The kit is good. I appreciate that they're trying something different within the relatively narrow bounds of 'majority white.' I'm not sure who is going to be moved over the line from 'don't like it' to 'want to buy it' once they hear that the stars reference past US kits (which, as the others point out, feels like much more of a nod to men's kits of the past than anything). AA Would you wear it? Why or why not? I'm on the fence, if I'm being honest. It's a good swing at taking the white home kits and trying something different with them, but the texture of the shirt and overlapping star pattern feels more like patriotic napkins my mom would buy for a Fourth of July picnic than a shirt I really want to wear. I feel as if they're ultimately just fine, but not something I'd want to spend money on. AS Yes, but I'd keep it reserved for match days. JF This kit has July barbecue written all over it. Highly wearable, but definitely more of a statement piece compared to the away version. MS This is the perfect example of a kit I would buy or wear depending on the memories that are made with it on the field. I think it'll be easy to wear it proudly if the US does relatively well. If the Emma Hayes era takes a drastic and unforeseen turn for the worse … maybe not. AA The away kit – the 'Heartbeat Kit' – was created to honor the fans, 'the ever-growing, passionate community behind US Soccer … Designed with a heritage-meets-streetstyle aesthetic, the Heartbeat Kit channels the pulse of the soccer nation.' Does any of that seem apparent to you in this kit? Heritage meets streetstyle. Farm-to-table fashion. I can practically taste the heirloom synthetic cotton used to spin these threads. And what is it that channels the pulse of the soccer nation? Pinstripes, baby! As a person that really loved the royal blue with white pinstripes USMNT kit from a long time ago, I'm down with rehashing that concept. But I'm going to need a map to figure out how we got from the kit design to this description of it. It's another retro callback, so I guess that's where the 'heritage' parts comes in? But they've lost me with the rest of it. This is channeling the streetstyle soccer pulse of a nation only if said nation is located inside of an Old Navy. AS I don't know how it 'channels the pulse of soccer nation' but it is one of the most street-wearable kits US Soccer has released. Even the US Soccer crest and Nike logo feel unobtrusive and integrated into the design. JF I think the 'heritage-meets-street style' approach comes through here. There's America-themed stripes, a pleasing mix of red and blues shades, and a design that is sleek and fashionable. MS Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion When I think of 'the pulse of the soccer nation' and the 'growing, passionate community' behind US soccer, I think of something a little chaotic, loud, rough-and-tumble. I don't get any of that from this kit, which to my eyes is very refined and under control. If anything, the home kit says 'passionate' to me far more than this one. AA Would you wear it? Why or why not? Nah. The alternating colors of the pinstripes aren't doing it for me and I don't really like navy as a base color for the secondaries as it stands. It feels simultaneously too drab and too busy. Generally, I want a kit to either commit to either being clean with some nice details (like the centennial kits), or go fully brash and loud (the '21 stadium kits). This kit feels like it tries to do both, and ends up hitting neither target. AS Every so often a kit comes along that I buy without a player name and number so I can wear it out on any occasion, this is one of those. JF For sure. This one's both eye-catching but versatile. I think you'd get a lot of good wear out of it, in a variety of settings. MS Definitely. As others point out, this one seems to be designed specifically to be worn in a non-game context, and it succeeds in that goal. AA Overall, where would you rank this collection in the pantheon of US kits? I don't like the secondaries, but the primaries are fine and the US has taken much worse swings. If the design hotstreak for the men between 2006 and 2012 is near the top of my US collection rankings, and stuff like the 2011 'medical scrubs' women's kits or those 2015 secondaries that looks like a bottle of antifreeze are on the bottom, then these are pretty middling, all things considered. Don't love 'em, don't hate 'em. I'll feel fine watching them on TV and not needing to wear them myself. 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Reuters
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- Reuters
Trail Blazers announce plans to sell franchise
May 13 - Late owner Paul Allen's estate confirmed plans to sell the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. The sale is "consistent with Allen's directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all estate proceeds to philanthropy," the Trail Blazers said in a statement posted on social media. The estate hired investment bank Allen & Company and the law firm Hogan Lovells to lead the sales process, which is expected to continue into the 2025-26 NBA season. The NBA's Board of Governors would have to ratify any purchase agreement. Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, purchased the Trail Blazers for $70 million in 1988. He died in 2018. Allen's estate also owns the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and a 25 percent stake in the Seattle Sounders of MLS but said neither of those clubs is for sale. The Trail Blazers are one of the lowest-valued teams in the league at $3.65 billion, according to CNBC's 2025 team valuations. --Field Level Media
