Kevin Calabro leaves Trail Blazers after ‘subprime’ offer as organization overhauls broadcasts

Portland Trail Blazers broadcasting is undergoing a dramatic makeover as part of the next wave of cost-cutting measures under Tom Dundon and his new ownership group.

Veteran television play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Calabro informed the organization Wednesday that he is leaving the broadcast after receiving a “subprime” contract extension offer. The Blazers have also not retained multiple on-air personalities and the radio broadcast remains in flux.

The moves come after weeks of on-again, off-again talks between the Blazers, their on-air personalities and the companies that facilitate the broadcasts as the organization continues to downsize and evolve under Dundon’s stewardship.

The biggest changes will come to the television broadcast. Calabro was hired in July 2016 to replace Mike Barrett and, save for a stretch during COVID-19, served as the face of the broadcast since. His contract expired on June 30 and there was mutual interest between him and the Blazers for a reunion, perhaps even in a more limited role.

In one scenario, Calabro, 70, would have called games part-time and helped groom his successor as he eased into the next phase as a broadcaster, then finished his career in Seattle, where the NBA is expected to expand in the coming years. Calabro, who served 22 years as the play-by-play voice of the Sonics before the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City, still lives in Seattle.

But any hope of Calabro’s return was dashed on Monday, when the Blazers — after weeks of inactivity — presented his agent with a low contract offer he called “subprime.” So Calabro elected to step away instead.

“I was grateful to have one of 30 jobs in the league and work so close to my home in Seattle,” Calabro said. “I’ll always be a part of Blazers history. I made some great memories and some great friends.”

Calabro made it clear he’s not ready to step away from the broadcast booth. He has “a couple conversations set up for next week” with NBA teams about play-by-play opportunities and, depending on how those talks go, is open to freelancing or even calling college games.

“I’m not thinking about retirement,” Calabro said. “I’m thinking: ‘What’s the next project?’”

Several of Calabro’s colleagues have already been forced to contemplate the future. The contracts of Michael Holton, Brooke Olzendam, Tom Haberstroh, Neil Everett and Jamie Hudson, as well as radio play-by-play voice Travis Demers, expired along with Calabro’s on June 30.

The team has elected not to retain Holton, Haberstroh, Everett and Hudson, news first reported by Forbes. However, a team source with knowledge of the negotiations told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the Blazers and Olzendam are nearing a deal on an extension for her to continue her duties as a courtside reporter and studio host. Demers also is positioned to return, a source with knowledge of those negotiations said. However, the deal is expected to come with a significant pay cut of “more than 50%.”

Lamar Hurd, the team’s popular television analyst, still has one year left on his contract and is expected to return, sources say.

“We are deeply grateful to all the hard-working individuals who have contributed to our award-winning broadcasts over the years,” Blazers spokesperson Charles Boyle said in a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive. “I can’t comment on individual personnel decisions, but I can confirm that we are making changes for the upcoming season as we continue to evolve with the changes in the broadcast industry and look to become more efficient in our business operations.”

Those changes are twofold, according to a team source. The Blazers have undergone a series of well-publicized cost-cutting measures since Dundon officially took over March 31, which included a sweeping round of layoffs that eliminated more than 70 jobs. Additionally, the Blazers’ television broadcast was the third-most expensive production in the NBA last season, a team source said, and the profits of regional sports networks have plummeted in recent years, making it an obvious target for reduction.

“It wasn’t a problem for Paul Allen and the Allen Estate,” a source said of the cost of the broadcast. “It is now. And I’m guessing it would be for several NBA owners not named Tom Dundon, who would wonder: ‘Why are we spending the third-most in the league on this?’”

The Blazers will continue to air games through Sinclair as part of the last year of a multiyear contract. The sides had discussed a one-year extension, but those talks fizzled in recent weeks, according to a team source. Similarly, the Blazers will continue to air radio broadcasts via iHeartRadio and will not simulcast the television broadcast, Boyle said in his statement.

Demers could return in his role, though his salary would be paid for by iHeartRadio and not the team, sources said. As a result, it would come with a significant pay cut that one source called “a slap in the face.” Demers, who has called Blazers games for seven seasons, could also be a candidate to replace Calabro, a team source said.

Dundon gutted the Carolina Hurricanes’ television and radio broadcasts in similar fashion shortly after he became owner of the NHL team.

He first asked the beloved Hall of Fame radio announcer Chuck Kaiton to take an 80% pay cut to keep his job, then opted to simulcast the team’s television broadcast on the radio when the broadcaster refused. Two years later, in the middle of the pandemic, Dundon offered respected television play-by-play voice John Forslund an 83% pay cut, sources told The Oregonian/OregonLive, and he elected to leave the organization instead.

Calabro, who is regarded as one of the best play-by-play voices in league history, has worked in NBA broadcasting in some capacity for 45 years, dating to when he started with the Kansas City Kings at age 25.

He became the voice of the Sonics in 1987 and called games in Seattle until the team relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. Calabro did freelance work for TNT and ESPN, which included a stint as the lead play-by-play voice on ESPN’s national NBA radio broadcast, then joined the Blazers in 2016 after the organization overhauled their broadcast teams, firing Barrett and Mike Rice in controversial moves.

Calabro said he will miss the connection to Blazers fans and the bond with his fellow broadcasters, a group with “big-time talent” that spent nearly a decade traveling the United States together calling games. He acknowledged that the last few years, which featured front office and coaching upheaval and a complete multiyear roster rebuild, “have been a grind.”

“It’s been really bad basketball,” Calabro said. “I’ve always been of the opinion that broadcasters are only as good as the product on the floor, so it’s been tough. It’s amazing how good guys sound when they get good games.”

Even so, Calabro said, he was grateful for the chance to call NBA games and hoped to continue in Portland.

“I took this decision right up until the deadline — actually we kept talking another two weeks — to try to get some resolution,” he said. “When they finally came with the offer, it was like, ‘No way. I just can’t.’ My time is worth more than that. So I’ve got to move on.”

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