Trail Blazers reject offer from Nike co-founder, Dodgers co-owner to buy team

The Paul G. Allen Trust declined a bid from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

"An offer was made by Phil Knight. The team remains not for sale," the Blazers said.

Knight and Smolinsky made a $2-billion bid for the Blazers, reports Wojnarowski. The pair is reportedly expected to continue pursuing the acquisition of the club.

The trust has overseen ownership of the Blazers since Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, died in 2018.

Knight is a Portland native, and his involvement indicates a desire to keep the team in his hometown rather than relocate it, Wojnarowski reports.

The most recent team slated to change ownership was the Blazers' division rival, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Entrepreneur Marc Lore and retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez dealt the first increment of the $1.5-billion deal to current owner Glen Taylor in 2021, with the transfer of controlling ownership expected to be completed by 2023.

Knight is looking to acquire his first professional sports team. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Memorial Hall of Fame in 2012 for growing and marketing the game of basketball globally thanks to significant financial support through Nike.