Blazers Rank No. 15 In Forbes' 2013 NBA Franchise Valuations

The Portland Trail Blazers rank No. 15 in Forbes' 2013 NBA Franchise Valuations, worth an estimated $457 million. The team was estimated to have lost $10 million on the year. In 2012, the Blazers ranked No. 13 with an estimated value of $370 million.

Here's the Blazers' blurb.

The Trail Blazers stumbled on the court last year, finishing with a record of 28-38, after three straight playoff appearances. Fans still flocked to the Rose Garden as the team had the second-highest attendance in the NBA, averaging 20,496 fans per game. The Rose Garden is one of the few NBA arenas without a naming rights deal. Team president Chris McGowan hopes to have one secured over the next year in a deal worth $2.5 million annually. Team owner Paul Allen, one of the wealthiest men in the world (net worth: $15 billion), owns the Rose Garden after buying the building out of bankruptcy in 2007.

Here's the intro to the list with notes on the impact of last year's lockout.

The NBA locked out its players in the hopes of constraining their salaries, boosting profitability and raising franchise values. A year later, owners should be ecstatic with the results.

The average NBA team is worth $509 million, a 30% increase over last year. The increase is due to higher revenue from television, new and renovated arenas, and the NBA's new collective-bargaining agreement, which reduced player costs from 57% of revenues to roughly 50%. The labor deal also increased the amount of money high-revenue teams provide low-revenue teams.

The top five most valuable teams according to the list: New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter