More Details Emerge in RAJ Sports-Cherng Family Lawsuit Over Trail Blazers Sale
The Bhathal family are attempting to keep the Cherngs from being a part of Tom Dundon's group that has agreed to buy the team.
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Earlier this week, RAJ Sports, the parent company of the Bhathal family's investments in the Portland Thorns and Fire and Sacramento Kings, filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery aiming to block the Cherng Family Trust from being a part of Tom Dundon's group that has entered into a formal sale agreement to buy the Trail Blazers from the Paul G. Allen Estate.
Initially, not much was known about the dispute between the Bhathals and the Cherngs because most of the files were under seal.
That has changed now.
On Friday, documents related to the complaint became unsealed and more details about the case, and the context around it, are now available.
Here's everything we know so far about the case and what comes next.
The Timeline of Events
The Bhathals, under their RAJ Sports investment vehicle, first became involved in the Portland sports scene in late 2023 when they agreed to purchase the NWSL's Portland Thorns from Merritt Paulson for $63 million. A little over a year later, they were awarded a WNBA expansion team, the Portland Fire, that is set to play its inaugural season at Moda Center in 2026.
Among several reasons the Bhathals' WNBA bid beat out a rival group was the fact that the family had already been involved in NBA ownership for more than a decade. Raj Bhathal, who made his money primarily in swimwear manufacturing and real estate investments, is the largest minority owner in the Sacramento Kings' group and serves as Vivek Ranadive's alternate governor. His two children, Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, are running day-to-day operations for the Thorns and Fire. Since the NBA's board of governors has to vote to approve new WNBA expansion teams, the Bhathals were able to get their bid fast-tracked because they were already a known commodity with a good working relationship with the league office and the other owners.
Naturally, when Paul Allen's estate announced on May 13 that they were officially putting the Trail Blazers up for sale, many people wondered whether the Bhathals would get involved. Since the NBA already knew them and their finances, and they were in the process of launching a WNBA team that will share an arena with the Blazers, it was a logical assumption to make. When they were asked in May by The Oregonian about their plans, they issued a statement that wasn't exactly a denial of interest.
According to the newly unsealed complaint against the Cherng family, that's exactly what the Bhathals were thinking.
