Phil Knight’s attempts to buy the Portland Trail Blazers for $2 billion thwarted by current owner Jody Allen

2023-06-05 13:46:00

More than a year ago, Phil Knightthe co-founder of Nike, and Alan Smolinisky attempted to buy out the Portland Trail Blazers for $2 billion. But so far, all their offers have received a negative response. The two men did not say their last word, however, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Phil Knight, founder of Nike, tries to buy the Blazers

The current owner, Jody Alleninherited the team in 2018 following the death of his brother, Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft. She had declared last year that the team was not for sale and did not change her mind.

“Sports teams (inherited from Paul Allen) are not for sale”confirmed a representative of Vulcan Inc, the company overseeing Jody Allen’s financial investments, to the Wall Street Journal. “It will eventually change in accordance with Paul’s wishes, but there is no set timetable for that to happen. »

Still, Knight and Smolinisky sent several emails and handwritten letters to the band. They even came up with a higher offer than their initial $2 billion following selling the Suns and Mercury for around $4 billion. Their requests went unanswered.

A year ago, Allen said he wanted to focus on the Blazers’ sports project, saying that the process leading up to the sale of the franchise might take up to 10 or 20 years. Despite rumors of toxic management and broken dialogue with Damian Lillard, the star of Portland, his position does not seem to have evolved. To see if the determination of Phil Knight – and, above all, his significant financial means – can change the situation.

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