Brandon Roy reveals that his arthritic knees are one step away from knee replacement-level (Ball Don’t Lie)

 Minnesota  No Responses »
Nov 232012
 

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Brandon Roy and Oregonian Portland Trail Blazers beat writer Jason Quick appear to have a pretty open and candid on-record relationship, something obviously forged to our great benefit during Roy’s 2006-2011 career as a member of the Blazers. Quick was our source earlier this week when Roy broke the news that he would have to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery, his seventh knee surgery since high school, sidelining him for a month and denying him the chance to play against his former team on Friday .
And on Thursday, as Quick met up with Roy in Minnesota before Friday night’s Blazers/Timberwolves tilt, Roy revealed two pretty significant things to the man that used to stand outside his locker every year from October until spring. First, this current surgery was the result of inflammation caused by banging knees with an opponent in Milwaukee late in the postseason, and possibly unrelated to Roy’s longtime injury woes.
Secondly? Roy’s knees are probably at a level that no other professional athlete is working through. From Quick’s very good feature on Brandon :
And with the calm that made him one of the game’s best finishers, he explains that his knees have reached Level III arthritis. There are only four stages.
“Level IV,” Roy says fearlessly, “is when you get a knee replacement.”

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Brandon Roy will make his NBA comeback in Minnesota, and we’ll see what he has left (Ball Don’t Lie)

 Minnesota  No Responses »
Jul 062012
 

When ex-Portland star guard Brandon Roy announced his retirement in December at 27 years old, he seemed far too young to be done playing basketball. His knees were in terrible shape, to be sure, and his days as a franchise cornerstone were done. But surely Roy could help some team somehow, right? He had simply been too great as a Rookie of the Year and All-Star with the Blazers to be finished entirely.
That turned out to be the case. Since making clear his intentions to return to the NBA several weeks ago, Roy has met with several teams. On Thursday night, Jason Quick of The Oregonian reported that Roy had reached an agreement with the Minnesota Timberwolves (technically the team that drafted him ) on a two-year deal worth $10.4 million. And now that he’s back with an NBA team, we must wonder what exactly we should expect out of Roy in this new phase of his career.

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Golden State Warriors Miss Out on Brandon Roy, Guard Signs with Minnesota Timberwolves: Fan’s Reaction (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

 Golden State  No Responses »
Jul 062012
 

The Golden State Warriors will not be adding a 27-year-old three-time All-Star to their roster this offseason. According to Jason Quick of The Oregonian, former Portland Trail Blazers free agent Brandon Roy has come to an agreement with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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Brandon Roy Reportedly Agrees to 2-Year Deal with Minnesota Timberwolves

 Rumors  No Responses »
Jul 062012
 

After retiring from the NBA following the 2010-2011 season, Brandon Roy has decided to give it another shot.

According to The Oregonian’s Jason Quick via Twitter, Roy and the Minnesota Timberwolves have reportedly reached an agreement:

Brandon Roy has come to a verbal agreement with Minnesota according to a person in Roy’s family

— Jason Quick (@jwquick) July 5, 2012

 

Hoopsworld’s Alex Kennedy offered the details of the contract:

Brandon Roy has agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Story: tinyurl.com/7kq2h7f

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 5, 2012

 

NBA.com’s David Aldridge elaborated on the financial specifics of the deal via Twitter:

Reporting in real time, folks: impeccable source just texted of Brandon Roy, “It’s minn”. @jwquick had it first. Deal is 2 yrs, $10.4M.

— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 6, 2012

 

Roy was forced to prematurely hang it up because of a degenerative issue that affected both of his knees. His on-court performance suffered due to the injuries, leading to career lows in virtually every statistical category leading up to retirement.

Despite his subpar performance in 2010-2011, Roy accumulated career averages of 19 points, 4.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game since he broke into the league in 2006.

The sixth overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves were actually Roy’s first official team before being sent to Portland on draft night for the draft rights to Randy Foye.

Adding the soon-to-be 28-year-old guard gives the T’Wolves an increased hope of becoming a serious contender in the Western Conference next season. The acquisition also allows Martell Webster to be more of a sixth man for Rick Adelman’s team, a role he is better suited for than Roy.

Before Ricky Rubio went down with a torn ACL 41 games into the season, the Timberwolves appeared to have an outside shot at postseason life.

Unfortunately, things did not go so well after Rubio’s injury. The T’Wolves won just five of their next 25 games.

If Rubio is able to make a speedy recovery, the Timberwolves’ starting five would look something like Rubio, Roy, Wesley Johnson, Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic.

The return of the former NBA Rookie of the Year marks an exciting day for the Minnesota community, and it will be interesting to see how next season pans out for both Roy and his new team.

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NBA Rumors: Latest on Budding Houston Rockets Star Goran Dragic

 Rumors  No Responses »
Apr 102012
 

This has been a dramatic season of rising stars, and you can now include Houston Rockets guard Goran Dragic to the long list. 

While Jeremy Lin may be down with injury, Dragic is delivering just as much excitement for his team at the moment. 

The guard is going from underrated player to potential summer millionaire in the span of a couple weeks.

There is sure to be a market for a player that continues to show that he can flat out play, and that is what The Oregonian’s Jason Quick reports via Twitter.

Houston PG Goran Dragic figures to be on Portland’s free agent radar this summer. So what’s important to the unrestricted FA? (cont)

— Jason Quick (@jwquick) April 10, 2012

 

Quick on Dragic’s priorities this summer.

Dragic on FA priorities: “For me, the most important thing is to find a good team, with coaching staff that can develop my game …” (cont)

— Jason Quick (@jwquick) April 10, 2012

 

Continued.

More Dragic on FA priorities: “I would like to be a starter, to run the team … I don’t know where that is going to be.”

— Jason Quick (@jwquick) April 10, 2012

 

Quick goes onto report that both the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers will have the cash to put on a mini bidding war over the guard. 

The Rockets will have about $18 million in cap space, and the Blazers will have between $15 million and $20 million. 

That is plenty of room for both to make quite the pitch at Dragic who should figure heavily on some NBA team next year. 

On the year, Dragic is averaging 10.8 points and 4.9 assists per game. 

However, it’s been his play in the last few weeks that really have general managers buzzing.

In the last five games alone, Dragic is averaging 21.2 points and 7.6 assists per game. 

It’s clear that Dragic can carry the load as a starter and there are a few teams that could use his ability to involve teammates and also go on a scoring tear. 

The 25-year-old is about to command his fair share of notable backcourt and a great deal of the cash that comes along with it. 

 

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Portland Trail Blazers: 6 Point Guards They Need to Pursue This Offseason

 Rumors  No Responses »
Apr 022012
 

Point guard play has been a glaring weakness for the 2011-12 Portland Trail Blazers.

Raymond Felton has played far below expectations. His numbers are modest at best, and awful when factoring in shooting percentages. In the eyes of Oregonian beat writer Jason Quick, he has become a locker room cancer.

 

If Blazers trade Felton they have a chance to make playoffs.Guy is a cancer and a crappy player. Bottom line. Period.

— Jason Quick (@jwquick)

 

Jamal Crawford is a scorer stuck spending minutes at point guard. His shooting percentages are low as well and he does not distribute as well as Felton.

Youngsters Jonny Flynn and Nolan Smith have both performed decently at times. The issue with these two is that they have  played a combined 320 minutes all season for Portland.

For Portland to become better, it must get a better floor leader. These six candidates—listed in the order they should be sought after—can help the Blazers in the coming seasons.

Begin Slideshow

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Friday Bullets

 Rumors  No Responses »
Dec 162011
 


Oregonian beat writer Jason Quick on Brandon Roy: “I’m not ashamed to admit this. At the end of our interview, I told Brandon I love him.” Here’s that moving interview, where Roy admits that the first time he made the All-Star team he ran around his house screaming “I’m an All-Star!” Also worth reading through this unbelievable outpouring of Roy love from fans in Quick’s feed.
Chris Paul once made Tyson Chandler look like a great offensive player.

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Greg Oden: Staying with Trail Blazers Is Brilliant Move by Injury-Prone Big Man

 Rumors  No Responses »
Dec 082011
 

Greg Oden has accepted the Trail Blazers‘ qualifying offer of $8.9 million, according to Jason Quick of the Oregonian.

Taking the money and staying in Portland is the smartest possible move Oden could have made. The injury-prone big man has only played 82 games in his NBA career.

Oden isn’t at a point in his career where he should be willing to take less money to go anywhere. He’s still 23 years old, and given the pattern of injuries that has followed him throughout his career, he needs to soak up as much money as he possibly can.

Running to the Miami Heat to try to win a championship isn’t in his best interest right now. If he proves he can stay healthy once he returns, he’s not going to have a shortage of suitors.

It’s not all about money either, though the extra cash doesn’t hurt matters.

Oden’s agent, Bill Duffy, said, “The mission has not been accomplished. The Blazers have stood by Greg, and now he is going to stand by them.’’

Oden has a shot at redemption. He’s got the potential to be an unstoppable force. The Blazers haven’t given up on Oden, and it wouldn’t be right for Oden to bail on them and head for greener pastures.

He may never justify the Blazers’ pick, and sports are a business, but taking the money and trying his best to finish what he started is a brilliant move.

That word “bust” still hangs over his head, and Oden never gave Portland fans what they expected. That may not change after this season, but giving it a try and getting paid $8.9 million to do so makes this decision too easy for Oden.

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NBA Rumors: Brandon Roy Staying in Portland, Will Blazers Bring Back Greg Oden?

 Rumors  No Responses »
Dec 062011
 

Like all NBA teams, the Portland Trail Blazers have some big decisions to make before the season begins later this month. They’re keeping injury-prone guard Brandon Roy, and now they must decide if re-signing Greg Oden, whose whole career has been hindered by injuries, is worth it.

Since both are too risky to keep, Portland has to decide which one to keep. Oden is worth the gamble, as the reward outweighs the risk. The Trail Blazers should bring back the former top overall draft pick. However, whether or not they actually do is an entirely different story.

There is a lot of time before the season starts, and Portland’s decision may be based off which other teams show interest in the big man. 

According to Jason Quick of The Oregonian, the Trail Blazers will not use the amnesty clause on Roy, that is, unless he gets injured again before the season starts. 

Still, it’s an interesting decision to not get rid of a guy who has never played a full season in his five-year career because of heel, ankle, knee and hamstring injuries. 

Now that Roy is staying, it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to bring back Oden. However, the team did propose an $8.9 million qualifying offer during the summer, meaning it can match what other teams offer if it so chooses.

The market for Oden won’t be extremely high because he is such a big risk.   

The 7’0″ center has been a staple on the bench the last two years, rehabbing instead helping out the team. Of course, if he and Roy stay healthy, the Trail Blazers would be sleepers in the Western Conference this year.

Given the fact his season will be much shorter, the chances of both of them not getting injured are much better.

However, with the new collective bargaining agreement, it will be financially difficult to keep both players. Portland will have to sacrifice in other areas to keep Roy and Oden.  

The former No. 1 draft pick, Oden hasn’t lived up to the hype, and injuries are the reason why. Quick reported earlier in the week that not only Portland, but any other team interested in the center will get a much-needed update on his health. On Thursday, Oden will get checked out by doctors in Colorado. Coming off microfracture surgery, it’s not believed that Oden will be able to practice with the team right away. 

If the news is good, more teams will pursue Oden, and maybe that’s what Portland’s plan has been all along. Still, banking on Oden to be healthy enough for other teams to want him is a huge risk.

The move to hang on to Roy was quite the surprise, which puts so many question marks around Oden. As the week goes on, we’ll know more about the situation.

It looked as though Portland wanted to keep him, but not getting rid of Roy has thrown everyone for a loop, meaning the Trail Blazers are definitely a team to watch in the coming weeks. 

 

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Brandon Roy’s waiting game

 Rumors  No Responses »
Dec 042011
 

On the Oregonian’s website, Jason Quick writes:
If the Blazers waive Roy, it will put them under the luxury tax threshold, likely saving owner Paul Allen more than $25 million in taxes this season.
I was all set to write a post about no matter how much you like Brandon Roy, nobody can afford any NBA player with that kind of surcharge.

But I ran the numbers by Larry Coon who explains that this year, Roy will likely be fairly cheap in terms of the tax — because the new punitive luxury tax won’t kick in yet.

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