Paul Allen emerged as a key participant NBA's labor negotiations this week, appearing as a hard-line owner against the players.

Throughout his time as the owner of the Blazers, Allen developed a strong reputation as one of the NBA's biggest spenders. The Blazers have consistently been amongst the teams with the highest payrolls and he also invested in purchasing draft picks from other teams at a price of as much as $3 million apiece.

In the 10-11 NBA season, the Blazers were one of four teams to be over the luxury tax threshold.

Many were surprised to see Allen reverse course on the economics of the NBA, but he made comments in April of this year to the Commonwealth Club of Silicon Valley that foreshadowed his current position.

"Sometimes they appreciate in value, but it depends on the market you are operating in," said Allen of professional sports franchises. 

"Everybody wants to compete, so everybody wants to open your wallet, as an owner, to be competitive because nobody wants to sit there (for) 82 games a year and watch your team have a losing record," said Allen. "It is just hard to make the numbers add up if you're in a smaller market."

The owners have been seeking a more punitive luxury tax in their negotiations with players and that was something Allen went on record of being in support of during this April conversation.

"Sometimes if you don't have the right salary cap and things, you can spend so much more than you'll get back in revenue, so you have to have those constraints because every owner wants to compete."