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Originally Posted by urbanlife
Personally I am not in the Knight camp buying the team. I just don't see that happening since it doesn't look like Jody has any interest in selling, nor should she if she is enjoying running a team.
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I have not been privy to the will Paul Allen left behind, and Jody hasn't provided clarification, so my opinion is based solely on what has been publicly stated and my own personal speculation.
Paul intended for the vast majority of his wealth (perhaps all) to be donated to charity. Jody was named executer and trustee upon Paul's death. This does not give her ownership and flexibility to manage the sports teams. Many team owners need to deficit spend to field a successful team, and there's not been the indication that Jody has the ability to tap into other assets held in the Trust to win Portland a championship. If the goal as an owner of a sports team is to maximize profit, they generally won't be able to field a championship team. As a restricted owner for the next 10 or 20 years, that could lead to a mediocre at best team being fielded during that ownership period.
We have a known interested local buyer who despite faults, has a deep connection to his home state. He also has money to not only field a championship team, but provide long needed updates to both the Moda Center and the neighborhood, including bringing in a WNBA team. He also has a succession plan with bringing in Alan Smolinisky as a co-owner.
This is about as best as it can get for a small market pro team. The team and the city will be better off the sooner Paul's fortune can be put to his personally identified useful passions like cancer research, conservation and climate change reduction programs; and we can transition to an active and local ownership group that is focused on winning a championship and revitalizing the neighborhood.