Owning a National Basketball Association (NBA) team can be an extremely profitable business venture. Three NBA franchises are currently ranked in the top ten most valuable sports teams in the world, and eleven sit within the top 50. In August 2025, the Boston Celtics sold for a staggering $6.1 billion. With only 30 teams in existence, the competition to acquire one can be more ferocious than what takes place on the court between the players.
There’s currently a full-court press going on over the sale of the Oregon-based Portland Trail Blazers, which had appeared to be all but completed. A deal had been formally announced on September 12, 2025, for the sale of the Blazers by the estate of the late Paul Allen to a group of investors headed by Tom Dundon, majority owner of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Carolina Hurricanes. The purchasing price is estimated to be at or above $4 billion, which is not too shabby for a team that’s missed the playoffs for the past four seasons. However, a new lawsuit filed on September 22 by another prospective buyer is looking to swat the deal into the Willamette River instead.
RAJ Sports Holding LLC (RAJ Sports), led by siblings who own the Women’s National Basketball League’s (WNBA) Portland Fire and the Portland Thorns FC of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), is seeking to block the involvement of Andrew and Peggy Cherng in the sale. The suit claims the husband and wife billionaires and founders of mall food court staple Panda Express breached a confidentiality and exclusivity agreement in July. With details in scant supply at the moment, Dundon’s agreement might be all tied up and heading to overtime.
To the Hoop
It’s estimated that over 600 million people worldwide play basketball monthly, and NBA games continue to have tremendous ratings. Add to that the billions spent yearly on NBA team merchandise, and the thought of owning one of the few professional basketball franchises in the U.S. is likely to fill one’s head with dollar signs.
The Portland Trail Blazers were owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen until his death in 2018. Allen bought the team in 1988, 11 years after their only NBA championship, for $70 million. The Allen estate, which clearly recognizes good ROI when it sees it, is obligated to sell both the Blazers and the National Football League’s (NFL) Seattle Seahawks, as stipulated in Allen’s will. Proceeds from the sales are earmarked for philanthropic endeavors.
After commencing the process of selling the team in May 2025, Allen’s estate announced a tentative deal in August. Other investors in Dundon’s group include Marc Zahr of Blue Owl Capital, Sheel Tyle of Collective Global, and the Cherng Family Trust, which is the investment firm of Peggy and Andrew Cherng. The formal declaration of the sale agreement came on September 12, with Dundon promising to keep the team in Portland. However, the fast break had to pull up short due to a lawsuit filed by RAJ Sports a week and a half later.
Alley Oop, or Alley Nope?
RAJ Sports, operated by siblings Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage, filed a lawsuit in Delaware challenging the Trail Blazers’ sale on September 22. It calls for the removal of the Cherng Family Trust from Dundon’s investment group. The suit claims the Cherngs, along with another entity, violated a confidentiality agreement in July of this year.
Despite being slated as minority owners in the Trail Blazers purchase agreement, the Cherngs are the wealthiest members of the Dundon ownership group. It’s unknown if Dundon can make the deal work if the Cherngs are removed from the equation. With some court documents due to be released soon, a better understanding of what the couple is accused of may become evident. For now, Dundon’s purchase deal is being forced into a four-corners offense for the time being.
Related Resources
- Legal Wills (FindLaw’s Estate Planning)
- Is There a Difference between Confidentiality and Privacy? (FindLaw’s Criminal Law)
- Is Your Confidentiality Agreement Legal? (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
