I believe all owners of professional sports teams have an obligation to their players, coaches, and fans.

If you're going to purchase a major franchise, above all else, it is your duty to protect and empower it like the treasured civic institution it is. The moment you start tightening your belt to save what is tantamount to trivial amounts of money to your bottom line, you have lost the plot. In essence, you have failed all the people mentioned, making it apparent that you have entirely misplaced priorities.

Based on recent developments, first-year Portland Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon has clearly never internalized this thought process. It's to the point where it's unclear whether he even recognizes how important the Trail Blazers are to the city of Portland.

First, per Jake Fischer, there was a report that the Trail Blazers want to pay their next head coach no more than $1.5 million per year. That is, uh, well below the current market standard for NBA coaches, even if they are first-timers. Obviously, this may likely have a huge impact on Portland's search:

"The consistent word for weeks about new [Trail] Blazers owner Tom Dundon is his apparent desire to pay no more than $1.5 million annually for a new head coach. That's well below the current NBA standard ... even for a first-time head coach. From $1 million to $1.5 million is actually the price range for the league's top assistant coaches, but Portland's desire to spend so modestly on a full-time replacement for [Chauncey] Billups has been widely communicated and figures to have a significant impact on the process."

So, in essence, Dundon is willing to potentially hamper his team's coaching candidate pool with one of the most important first decisions the Trail Blazers will make under his direction. In a word: Yikes.

Then, late last week, according to Guillermo Mota of KATU News, the Trail Blazers revealed they won't, in fact, give away trademark oversized shirts for their home games with the San Antonio Spurs in their first-round series. You know, the kinds of shirts you see at, quite literally, most NBA arenas during the postseason. It's a tried-and-true, beloved playoff tradition that Dundon's Trail Blazers are simply electing not to participate in.

Make no mistake, even for around 20,000 people, it doesn't and shouldn't cost that much for a man with over a billion dollars to his name to foot the bill for some quick-printed clothing that you or I could probably set up at our local FedEx:

Trail Blazers President Dewayne Hankins says fans won’t receive playoff T-shirts for Games 3 & 4 at the Moda Center when they host Spurs #RipCity #NBAPlayoffs

As reported by Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report, the Trail Blazers elected NOT to send their two-way players (who, by the nature of their contracts, can't play in the playoffs, but can still hang around the team) with their full-time roster to San Antonio for the postseason. Doing something like this is not the norm in the NBA. Every other road team in the first round of the playoffs brought its two-way players along.

It's a team culture thing. It's a recognition of the hard work and sacrifices that guys on the fringe of an NBA roster make every single day with no promise of a future. It's an appreciation and a showing that they belong with their more acclaimed and celebrated teammates. Just because they can't play in the postseason doesn't mean they can't bring value and support for their team on a road trip in a hostile environment.

And again: how much could it have really cost to give a few extra guys seats on the Portland team plane, along with proper housing accommodations? It boggles the mind.

"And in a move that could only be attributed to more cost-cutting measures from new owner Tom Dundon, [Caleb] Love and the Blazers' other two-ways, Chris Youngblood and Jayson Kent, did not travel to San Antonio with the team for Games 1 and 2 and will be watching from home in Portland.

This is well outside of standard practice in the NBA. All seven other road teams on the first weekend this year's playoffs brought their two-way players to the games even though they can't play, sources close to those teams confirmed. They may be stuck in street clothes, but they're still being treated like they're part of their teams."

I don't know exactly what the future holds for the Trail Blazers under Dundon because I can't see the future.

What I do know is that, based on the last few weeks or so, their path back to consistent relevance will likely be made that much harder by a brazen owner who wants to pinch pennies in the most basic places.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon shows cheapness with 3 cost-saving moves