OT LeBron James to Portland billboard smashes funding goal, now Trail Blazers fans may take their messa

https://www.google.com.tw/amp/s/art...8/03/lebron_james_trail_blazers_billboard.amp



A billboard intended to entice LeBron James to sign with the Trail Blazers will go up as planned in the city of Portland. And perhaps in Cleveland, too.

After the minds behind ' Trillblazin ,' the satirical Trail Blazers social media presence and clothing linestarted a Go Fund Me campaign on March 15 to raise funds for a billboard, Blazers fans in Portland and across the country responded. That included larger donations from local businesses like Poler Stuff, Tender Loving Empire, The Athletic and Stumptown Coffee Roasters as well as celebrities who claim Rip City as their home, like comedian Ian Karmel and the rock band Portugal The Man.

"They've helped bring this to a larger level than we expected," Co-founder of Trillblazin Ira Lafontaine told The Oregonian/OregonLive. "So combining that with everything the fans have done, we're trying to make this the best thing we possibly can."

After the story made the rounds Friday with national media picking up on the news, it took just three days for the campaign to surpass the initial goal of $2,000. But with momentum for the campaign and more than enough money in hand to make the billboard a reality, Lafontaine and fellow Trillblazin co-founder Keith Kunis have increased the goal and are looking to take things a step further.

"With $2000 we knew we could get a billboard somewhere around Portland," Lafontaine said. "But as we surpassed that number, we wondered if we could get enough to put something near the Moda Center."

From there, things snowballed. The new goal of $2,750 was surpassed almost immediately and now the campaign has turned its focus to prime placement for the billboard and other ideas including possible transit ads, or things like sign holders in Cleveland outside of Quicken Loans Arena. As of Tuesday evening, the campaign has surpassed the new goal of $5,500 with nearly $7,000 pledged.

"The billboard is fully funded, so now we're looking at other options like doing a second billboard [in Cleveland]," Lafontaine said. "It's all based on the funding, and we haven't reached out to anyone in Cleveland yet, but we've also talked about doing some other fun things like targeted online ad campaigns around products LeBron likes and maybe getting into the back of his mind. We want to figure out how to get the most bang for the buck."

As discussed in the first story on funding the billboard , it would be very difficult for the Trail Blazers to sign James this offseason, even if the NBA superstar was interested in joining them. With their roster and salary cap situation, Portland would need to clear out a host of their current players on expiring deals to make room for what would have to be a max contract for James.

"You know, it's going to be a little bit tough," Lafontaine said of the Blazers chances to sign James. "But everything that happens starts with a little idea somewhere, and maybe this is it."

What do you think, Trail Blazers fans? Does Portland have any chance to land LeBron James? Lets find out how much hope is out there in Rip City:

 

I will admit the sign is a bit funny by saying "Third Option". I wonder what LBJ thinks?