New Blazers owner says team is shifting away from development mindset of recent years

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — While the Portland Trail Blazers have emphasized developing young talent in recent years, new owner Tom Dundon says that mindset is shifting toward loftier goals.

“We've tried to get this message through the last couple of days that that was fun, and probably necessary, but it's more fun to win," Dundon said. "It's more fun to do the things that lead to success and hopefully we'll start creating more habits, that those processes lead to the kind of winning that I expect, and I think everybody expects.”

Dundon spoke Thursday along with fellow investors in the “Rip City Rising” ownership group. The NBA Board of Governors on Monday approved the reported $4.25 billion sale of the team by Paul Allen's estate and the new owners took over the team on Tuesday.

The Blazers sit at 39-38 in the Western Conference, a half-game back of the eighth-place Los Angeles Clippers. Having already clinched a play-in spot, if Portland can move into the eighth spot it is an easier one-game shot at advancing to the playoffs.

The new owners group includes Dundon, Portland-based Sheel Tyle, the co-founder of investment firm Collective Global; Marc Zahr, co-president of Blue Owl Capital; the Cherng Family Trust, the investment firm of the co-founders of Panda Express; Stan Middleman of Freedom Mortgage who also owns a stake of the Philadelphia Phillies, and others.

In addition to the Trail Blazers, the acquisition includes the Rip City Remix in the NBA G League and Rip City Management, which operates the Moda Center.

Earlier this month, Dundon sold a portion of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes to three new minority owners, a transaction reportedly worth $332.5 million for 12.5% of the team.

Dundon bought a stake in the Hurricanes in 2017, became the majority owner in 2018 and took sole possession of the club in 2021. He is chairman and managing partner of the Dallas-based firm Dundon Capital Partners.

Dundon said he won't shy from pulling off the big deal, adding Blazers general manager Joe Cronin had a possible deal at the trade deadline that would have made a splash.

“If that opportunity exists, I'm probably more aggressive than most," Dundon said. "If it doesn't exist, then you've got to go about finding the pieces to continue to get better, then decide if you can get good enough to win a championship, or you have to take a step back.”

Portland has built in recent years around a nucleus of young players, including Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan. The team's top scorer is Deni Avdija, in his fifth season.

The sale of the Trail Blazers comes after the Oregon Legislature approved funds for the renovation of the Moda Center in early March. The measure gives the state joint ownership of the 30-year-old arena with the city and provides a mechanism to secure $365 million for the building’s renovation ahead of the women's NCAA Final Four in 2030.

Allen, the Microsoft co-founder who died in 2018, bought the Blazers in 1988 for $70 million. His estate announced last May it had begun the process of selling the team. Allen also owned the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and a minority share of Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders.

Allen stipulated in his will the eventual sale of his teams, with the proceeds to be given to philanthropic endeavors. Allen’s estate announced it began the process of selling the Seahawks in mid-February, about two weeks after the team captured the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship.

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Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin, left, and Sheel Tyle, Blazers alternate governor, center, listen as during a news conference with new owner and governor Tom Dundon, right, on Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Portland Trail Blazers new owner and governor Tom Dundon, left, speaks during a news conference on Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Portland Trail Blazers new owner and governor Tom Dundon, center, speaks as alternate governors Andrew Cherng, right, and Sheel Tyle listen during a news conference on Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Portland Trail Blazers new owner and governor Tom Dundon speaks during a news conference on Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal agents can no longer make arrests without exceptional circumstances in and around three Manhattan buildings where immigration proceedings occur, a judge ruled.

The decision by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel on Monday brings an abrupt halt to a practice begun under the Trump administration that enabled agents to take into custody individuals who follow requirements to appear before immigration judges.

The arrests have resulted in dramatic scenes in courthouse hallways as those being detained were sometimes pulled away from emotional family members.

Castel said in a written decision that while there was “a strong governmental interest in enforcing immigration laws,” there also was a serious interest in letting individuals attend removal proceedings and pursue asylum claims before a judge “without fear of arrest.”

He noted that federal agents still can detain individuals at locations away from immigration courts and also can make arrests at immigration courthouses when there are serious threats to public safety.

He said the boundaries set out in federal policy five years ago can remain in effect, but a court case before him was likely to result in a finding that a withdrawal of that policy after President Donald Trump took office was “arbitrary and capricious.”

Castel also noted that government lawyers recently reversed their position, saying they've learned that 2025 policies regarding arrests in and around courthouses set by the Trump administration did not apply to immigration courts after all.

The judge, who last year had declined to ban the practice, said the new position by government lawyers meant it was necessary to “correct a clear error and prevent a manifest injustice.”

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road NY and others.

It was praised by Amy Belsher, director of the NYCLU's Immigrants’ Rights Litigation.

She called it “an enormous win for noncitizen New Yorkers seeking to safely attend their immigration court proceedings.”

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement: “It is common sense to take illegal aliens into custody following the completion of their removal proceedings. Nothing prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them. We are confident we will ultimately be vindicated in this case.”

A spokesperson for Justice Department lawyers declined comment.

Castel's decision, which did not apply nationwide, pertained to immigration courts at 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street and 290 Broadway in Manhattan. New York's FBI headquarters is also located at 26 Federal Plaza, a large building across from two federal courthouses near City Hall.

The organizations first brought the lawsuit last August on behalf of immigrant advocacy groups African Communities Together and The Door.

“In the face of this administration’s ongoing targeting of our young members, this decision brings us hope,” said Beth Baltimore, deputy director of The Door’s Legal Services Center.

“Our staff continues to work tirelessly to support Door members who were terrified to go to their required court appearances. We stand with our members to fight for those impacted by courthouse arrests, including those who remain detained, and other cruel policies,” Baltimore said in a release.

FILE - A Dominican man, left, and an activist, right, are detained by plainclothes officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement after an immigration hearing at the immigration court inside the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York, on June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)