Paul Allen was emphatic: He’s not selling the Portland Trail Blazers.
In a rare and wide-ranging discussion with reporters on Monday night, the billionaire owner shot down recent talk that he wants to put the Blazers on the market in the near future.
“I have no plans to sell the team,” he declared.
Allen would not, however, say how long he expects to keep the Blazers.
He said numerous factors would play into that decision, including his health. The co-founder of Microsoft was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy in 2009, but was declared cancer-free late last year.
Allen was optimistic that the NBA’s new labor agreement would help smaller-market teams like his that have been losing money. He corrected one reporter about his losses, saying they were in the “hundreds of millions, let’s be clear.”
Allen has owned the Blazers since 1988.
FASTBREAKS
The Sacramento Kings voided Chuck Hayes’ $21.3 million, four-year contract, saying the forward-center failed a team physical due to a heart abnormality. … Free agent Nick Young has signed a one-year contract to return to the Washington Wizards. The shooting guard led Washington in scoring last season with a career-high 17.4 points per game, more than doubling the 8.6 he averaged in the 2009-10 season. … Forward Bismack Biyombo signed a rookie contract with the Charlotte Bobcats hours after agreeing to pay a $1.5 million buyout clause to gain his release from the Spanish club Fuenlabrada. … The Bobcats also acquired center Byron Mullens from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a 2013 second-round draft pick.
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