New Portland owner Tom Dundon's penny-pinching ways talk of league, he does not care

On the court, the Portland Trail Blazers are impressing with their athleticism and play in their first-round series against San Antonio — there is a real path forward for this team to be a threat in the West. However, in league circles, it's the Trail Blazers moves off the court that have everyone taking — and mocking — the franchise. Specifically, reports of penny-pinching by new owner Tom Dundon.

While more rumors are swirling around the league than we have room to discuss here, there are a few of these incidents that have become public: •Portland was the only team not to bring their two-way players on the road for their first-round playoff series, something first reported by Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report . Traditionally, those players are considered part of the team — Caleb Love played 49 games for the Trail Blazers this season — even if they are not on the active playoff roster. • The Trail Blazers shrunk the size of their traveling party for road trips, which included the team photographer and digital reporter not making trips.

• Portland made support staff check out of their hotel rooms early and wait nearly four hours in the lobby of a hotel to avoid late check-out fees. That included the team masseuse, who had nowhere to set up and work on players, reports Jason Quick of The Athletic . However, the big rumor has been that they are trying to hire a coach on the cheap.

As one source told NBC Sports, Portland is trying to hire an NBA coach on a mid-major coach's salary. There were reports that Dundon spoke to multiple college coaches and was reportedly trying to hire a coach for about $1. 5 million a season, well below the roughly $4 million average starting salary for an NBA coach (the league average for a coach is closer to $7 million).