Tom Dundon laid off 70 employees at the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, eliminating entire divisions within basketball operations in what marks the most aggressive cost reduction by an NBA owner this season. The cuts include Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, four-time WNBA champion and Hall of Famer, who joined the franchise's development staff in 2023.
The layoffs arrive four months after Dundon, who made his fortune in subprime auto lending and owns the Carolina Hurricanes, closed his $2.1 billion acquisition of the Trail Blazers in September. League sources say the cuts affect scouting, player development, and analytics units, with several roles absorbed into dual-function positions under new general manager Joe Cronin. The franchise confirmed the restructuring in a statement but declined to specify which departments were shuttered. Cooper-Dyke, who won championships with the Houston Comets from 1997 to 2000, had been working with guards on shooting mechanics and transition offense.
The timing signals Dundon is applying the same operational playbook he used in Carolina, where he cut front-office staff by 30% within six months of purchasing the Hurricanes in 2018, then doubled hockey operations spending two years later once revenue stabilized. Trail Blazers revenue fell 14% last season as the team finished 21-61, the second-worst record in franchise history. Attendance dropped to 16,207 per game, down from 19,393 the prior year, opening a roughly $18 million gate-revenue gap. Sponsors including StormX and Columbia Sportswear declined renewal conversations in Q4, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.
The cuts create immediate questions about player development infrastructure as Portland enters a rebuild around Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, both under 22. The franchise loses institutional knowledge in Cooper-Dyke, whose work with backcourt players drew praise from Henderson's camp during rookie summer league. One Western Conference assistant coach noted the gutting of development staff is unusual for a young roster: "You don't usually see this during the rebuild. You see it after the rebuild fails." The analytics group, which had grown to nine full-time employees under prior owner Jody Allen, now operates with three, per a source with direct knowledge.
Dundon's approach differs sharply from recent NBA ownership entries. Mat Ishbia added 40 front-office roles within three months of buying the Phoenix Suns for $4 billion in 2023. Marc Lasry, before selling his Milwaukee stake, expanded analytics and sports science after the 2021 championship. Dundon's model assumes efficiency gains through consolidation, a thesis that worked in Carolina, where the Hurricanes reached the playoffs six consecutive seasons after his cuts while maintaining bottom-quartile front-office spending.
The Trail Blazers operate under a $133 million payroll this season, roughly $30 million below the luxury tax threshold, with $47 million in expiring contracts next summer. The franchise holds its own 2025 first-round pick, projected in the top five, plus future draft capital from the Damian Lillard trade. Front-office cuts suggest Dundon is prioritizing balance-sheet flexibility over competitive timeline, a stance that aligns with his public comments in October: "We're not trying to win next year. We're trying to build the right way."
Watch whether Dundon consolidates scouting operations with the Hurricanes' analytics vendor, Zelus Analytics, which he invested in during 2022. The franchise begins international scouting for the 2025 draft cycle in March, now with roughly half the personnel. Cooper-Dyke's next role will signal how NBA teams value her development credibility—she's drawn interest from two lottery teams seeking guard coaches, per league sources. Portland's next financial disclosure, due in April, will show whether these cuts produced the $8-12 million in annual savings Dundon's advisors modeled before the acquisition closed.
The Hurricanes made the Conference Finals twice after Dundon's initial cuts. The Trail Blazers have 19 games before the trade deadline.
The takeaway
Dundon applies Hurricanes cost playbook to Trail Blazers, cutting 70 including development staff mid-rebuild—watch April financials for savings proof.
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