Travis Demers will call Portland Trail Blazers television games on a trial basis this season. The move follows a chaotic offseason in the team’s broadcast booth.
What We Know: Demers, the team’s radio voice for seven seasons, will call games on a game-by-game basis, according to The Oregonian. He joins color analyst Lamar Hurd and courtside reporter Brooke Olzendam. Meanwhile, the opening stems from Kevin Calabro’s July exit and the botched hire of Braiden Bell. Calabro left after receiving what he deemed a “subprime” contract offer from the Blazers and new owner Tom Dundon. He has since joined the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ultimately, the team picked Bell but fired him roughly eight hours after hiring him over offensive social media posts he wrote as a teenager.
What’s At Stake: With Demers shifting to the television booth, the Trail Blazers now must fill in their radio play by play role when Demers is unavailable. With the season officially underway, the Trail Blazers were under pressure to find a secured voice for their television product. However, the continued fallout from Bell’s firing could last long into the season with a possible lawsuit being filed over the reasoning for his dismissal.
What Remains Unclear: The team hasn’t decided what to do with radio. For now, the Blazers will likely simulcast his TV call on radio, as Dundon does with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. But will that setup last the full season is unknown.
What It Means: In short, the Blazers chose stability over a splashy hire. Demers has lived in the Portland area for more than two decades, and fans already like him. Still, executives previously have long fought to keep a dedicated radio broadcast. Consequently, a permanent simulcast would mark another major shift under Dundon. Just the latest shift under the new ownership group.
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