UPDATED 6/3, 10:39 a.m. ET: The Portland Trailblazers released a statement in response to Adrian Wojnarowski reporting that Phil Knight and Alan Smolinisky made an offer to purchase the franchise.
The organization confirmed that Knight made the offer but said that the Blazers are not currently up for sale.
See original story below.
Phil Knight’s love for his home of Oregon runs deep, and now the Nike founder, along with Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky have made a bid for over $2 billion to purchase the Portland Trailblazers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
“Nike founder Phil Knight and Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky have made a $2 billion-plus written offer to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell ESPN,” Woj tweeted. “Discussions are ongoing with the Paul Allen trust that’s overseeing ownership of team. Story soon.”
Woj also cites that Knight’s ownership would be in efforts to keep the franchise in Portland and help it grow.
Knight’s loyalty to the state of Oregon has been well documented, from the player exclusives that his alma mater the University of Oregon receives, to Nike’s headquarters being located in Beaverton. In ESPN’s full report, Woj added that Knight and Smolinisky are in talks with the Paul Allen Trust as well, which oversees the team after Allen’s 2018 death.
“Knight and Smolinisky have been engaged in discussions with the Paul Allen Trust that’s overseeing the franchise and those talks are planned to continue,” Woj reports.