Trail Blazers Trade Update: Will Yang Hansen’s New Owner Have to Wait Another Year?

Yang Hansen has only recently arrived at the Trail Blazers, and yet the team is facing a change in ownership, which involves a complicated background.

The future owner of the Trail Blazers, Tom Dundon

According to U.S. media reports, the agreed price for this deal is $4.25 billion. But as the public buyer, Dundon’s personal wealth falls short of this figure, requiring him to bring in joint investors. Recent disclosures indicate that Dundon’s net worth is about $2 billion. This means he must find partners to complete the acquisition. NBA teams are highly sought after in the U.S., so finding investors is not a difficult task. Therefore, for Dundon, the $4.25 billion price tag is not a barrier to the deal.

Per NBA regulations, the controlling owner must hold at least 15% of the team’s equity, meaning Dundon only needs to provide a minimum of $640 million himself, with the remainder coming from co-investors. There are reports that Garcia II, a major player in the U.S. used car market, and his son might become key investors. However, Dundon’s team, the current Trail Blazers management, and the Garcia family have all declined to comment on this news.

Additionally, the rules allow the buyer to involve private equity funds, and the actual decision-making authority of the team does not have to belong to the largest shareholder. The NBA permits up to 25 investors per team, with each investor holding at least 0.5% ownership, and all investors must be independent individuals—crowdfunding is not allowed.

Since there are no financial obstacles for the Trail Blazers’ buyers, when can this potential acquisition be finalized? Dundon’s group hopes to sign a formal purchase agreement before September and then submit it to the NBA for approval. Afterwards, a committee made up of team owners will review the deal and recommend whether to approve it to all owners. Then, the 30 NBA owners will vote, requiring at least 75% approval for the deal to pass.

This entire process will take several months. The Celtics were put up for sale last summer, announced a deal in March, received NBA approval last week, and completed the transaction this week.

According to a source close to the deal, Dundon’s team aims to complete the purchase by March 31, 2026. This means Yang Hansen’s new season will mostly be spent amid uncertainty. Under the shadow of ownership change, every player must prove their worth. For Yang Hansen, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

Could this deal fall through? Certainly, it’s possible. This is only a preliminary agreement. But at present, all parties are familiar with each other and likely motivated to complete the transaction. In any case, as of now, the Dundon group remains the most probable investor to acquire the Trail Blazers.