PORTLAND — What happens on the court with the Blazers is fairly immaterial these days. But what’s even talked about off the court can create a deafening buzz.
Dwight Jaynes of csnnw.com reported Thursday that Blazers owner Paul Allen was entertaining offers to sell the team.
The report said that two groups had apparently showed interest in purchasing the franchise, although those groups were not specified, nor was the source of information identified.
Allen vehemently denied the report on Twitter, tweeting, “It is absolutely false that I have entertained offers for the Portland Trail Blazers. Unnamed sources are wrong as usual. Why don’t reporters check?”
The Oregonian, meanwhile, quoted Allen spokesman David Postman, who also countered the claim, saying
“The story is absolutely false. I just talked with Paul, and he made perfectly clear that his position has not changed since he spoke with Portland reporters”
Allen briefly put the team on the market in 2006 before deciding he wanted to retain ownership.
In a meeting with reporters last December, Allen said that he had no plans to sell the team, but added some interesting thoughts.
“Some of those years are tough, when you’re winning 20-some games or whatever, those are tough years. If I felt like we were going right back into that, that would be a challenge,” Allen said. “I’m just trying to tell you how I think about it, but I can’t give you a definitive answer because I think every owner at some point thinks, ‘OK, what’s the future going to be?’”
Via Twitter, Jaynes pointed out that Allen is virtually impossible to get a hold of, and then offered him an opportunity to discuss the matter with him or other media members.
Meanwhile, Blazers president Larry Miller also denied knowing anything about a potential sale.
“My reaction is that I know absolutely nothing about that,” Miller said. “I have no knowledge of any groups that have been talking to anyone down here, that’s for sure. I would assume if that were the case I would know about it.”
