The Portland Trail Blazers became a far more expensive team in the short and long-term this offseason by re-signing Allen Crabbe, Meyers Leonard and Moe Harkless while also signing Evan Turner in free agency and extending C.J. McCollum.

Paul Allen was asked if he had any apprehension about investing so much in the team.

"Well, Neil (Olshey) and I go over all those things closely, I think," said Allen. "One of the big decisions was when we discussed signing Evan (Turner) and that worked out. And to get Meyers (Leonard) and Moe (Harkless) back, they were all very deliberate decisions we evaluated. The financial consequences are significant, but that's because we believe in this group of guys. They showed what they can do last year."

Allen was reticent to give specifics on expectations this season.

"I always try not to make, as you know — I think we've done this for a while — I don't make particular predictions on the number of wins and losses. But I think we have a chance to be significantly better than last year. And I think everybody was really encouraged to see how the team came together last year, how well the coaching meshed with the talent. And the guys that Neil brought in, I think, exceeded everybody's expectations. So that was a very encouraging year last year and hopefully we'll build on that."

Allen also said the Blazers are doing well from a business perspective.

"Good. Good. We had a very good year last year. Obviously, we're increasing our payroll. But all the media numbers and everything go up, too. So we're going to be spending more this year, but we think it's justified."