The Portland Trail Blazers shoved a broadcasting icon out the door to cut costs. Now they're getting what they paid for| Bill Oram
oregonlive.com • • sports
Key Points:
- The Portland Trail Blazers fired veteran broadcaster Kevin Calabro to save costs, hiring 29-year-old Braiden Bell, whose past racist and misogynistic tweets quickly led to his dismissal and career damage.
- The Blazers' management, led by Tom Dundon, prioritized budget cuts over experience, resulting in a loss of a highly respected broadcaster and organizational instability just before the preseason.
- The team's significant layoffs, including marketing and HR executives, weakened internal oversight, contributing to the failure to properly vet Bell's social media history.
- While Bell's offensive posts as a teenager are indefensible, the Blazers' rush to cut expenses at the expense of quality and due diligence is seen as the root cause of the controversy.
- Calabro's immediate hiring by the Minnesota Timberwolves underscores his high value and the risk the Blazers took by replacing him with a less experienced, cheaper alternative.
