Miami doesn’t have the pieces. The Trail Blazers don’t want to get pantsed in front of the rest of the NBA, so they won’t settle. What’s left is a summer standoff that threatens to leave Damian Lillard stuck in a Portland uniform to start next season.
Anyone ever dealt with Bert Kolde?
The vice chairman of Trail Blazers, Inc. is a less-than-holistic cat. A variety of vendors and arena tenants who have had dealings with him over the years tell me Kolde doesn’t just drive a hard bargain, he’s often intentionally difficult.
In fact, the operator of an entity that was faced with doing business with with the Blazers in recent years recently told me a story about Kolde. It rented the Moda Center for a few dates every year. But one year, the business was presented with steep and unexplained rate hike.
