Amid criticism over his perceived frugality, new Portland Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon set the record straight and apologized for at least one controversial cost-cutting measure during a recent interview on the “Game Over” podcast.Since March 30, when the NBA’s Board of Governors approved Portland’s sale to Dundon, reports have circulated about significant belt-tightening within the organization. That included rumors of the Blazers trying to hire a head coach for what would be the league’s lowest salary, as well as word that the team skimped on approving late hotel checkouts for employees on the road.The one Dundon told podcast hosts Max Kellerman and Rich Paul he regrets: not bringing the Blazers’ two-way players on the road for the opening weekend of the playoffs.“I just made a mistake. I just don’t understand the league,” Dundon said on the podcast. “In hockey, we don’t travel (with) extra people because it’s … we’re not on vacation. We’re here to win, so we don’t want the distraction. The NBA seems to live with those distractions. It’s not how I think about it. So, you sort of got to learn, you know, what’s the differences between the two leagues.”Dundon’s account also ran counter to recent comments by general manager Joe Cronin, who initially took the blame for Portland’s cost-cutting measure.“That one’s on me,” Cronin told reporters May 1. “It was more of a miscommunication on my end.”Dundon, who bought the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes in January 2018, has largely shrugged off the negative attention he has received as Trail Blazers owner because he doesn’t think critics understand him or his approach.The Trail Blazers were the only road playoff team not to travel two-way players during the opening weekend of the 2026 playoffs. Per NBA policy, those players could have at least attended games 1 and 2 against the San Antonio Spurs. Dundon reversed course by sending the team’s two-ways — Caleb Love, Jayson Kent and Chris Youngblood — to San Antonio to conclude Portland’s surprise playoff appearance.As his conversation with Kellerman and Paul continued, Dundon explained why he didn’t regret the decision not to pay for employees’ late hotel checkouts during the team’s trip to Phoenix for the Play-In Tournament.“Normally, when you travel, you get (a) late checkout, right? In this case, in sports, it’s usually like 5 percent and never comes up. We went because it was last-minute going to Phoenix. There was no hotels, I guess,” Dundon said. “… So I had trouble getting hotels, and the hotel really wanted us to be out early because they needed the rooms, and so they wanted us to pay for a second night, and so we did that for the coaches and the players, but we got them to let us leave at 1 o’clock.”Team staff and Dundon himself passed the time in the hotel ballroom he’d previously reserved, instead of paying for the late checkout, the owner said. He then doubled down on not regretting what he thought was a middle ground for the situation.“I think it’s actually pretty stupid to think that people who are there to work, who are being fed — and 45 minutes later, they weren’t in the lobby,” Dundon said. “They brought their bags down in the room, right by where the bus was, right next to my bag, and we sat down there and talked. And you know, if that’s too hard for people, I’m not right for them. You know, like, I want that culture.”Dundon’s purchase of the Trail Blazers coincided with the team’s securing its first playoff berth since 2021. The season started with head coach Chauncey Billups getting arrested for his alleged involvement in an illegal gambling ring, leading to assistant coach Tiago Splitter taking over as interim head coach. As the Blazers gauge how to handle their head-coaching search, reports have surfaced that they’ve sent out “low-ball offers” to prospective candidates, including college coaches and Splitter, who is making $850,000 as the interim coach.