Brandon Roy may have retired from the NBA just five short months ago, but there have already been multiple reports that the 27-year-old guard might not be done for good.
Roy’s degenerative knees likely haven’t fixed themselves, but if Roy is feeling the itch to play so soon after announcing his retirement, it’s tough to imagine anybody stopping him from returning to basketball somewhere in the future.
The news of Roy’s potential comeback is exciting news for the NBA. As a Portland Trail Blazers fan, though, don’t expect to see your former franchise-saving player back in black and red any time soon.
When the Trail Blazers learned of Roy’s retirement, they opted to use the amnesty clause under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement to alleviate themselves of his maximum-level contract.
While the amnesty provided the team with enough cap space to sign Jamal Crawford, it also made it so Roy could not return to the Blazers for quite some time.
Roy’s contract would have gone through the 2014-15 season, meaning he cannot sign with the Blazers as a free agent until the end of that original deal.
It can be argued that Roy should have simply taken the year off, rehabbed his knees and made a comeback with the same team that traded for him back in 2006.
If you’re Roy, though, it’s tough to imagine the Blazers keeping you on the roster if you opt to take a year or more off. Even if he had stuck around and rehabbed, we’d likely see him in the exact situation we’re seeing him in now.
So thinking about Roy making a potential NBA comeback, it begs the question, are you as big a Roy fan as you are a Blazers fan?
Those who bleed red and black should have an allegiance to their team before their team’s players. Players come and go, but the team will be around far longer than any player who puts on the jersey.
Roy, however, became the face of the entire franchise, and with his incredible talent and basketball IQ, he was quickly becoming one of the best young players in the entire NBA.
Putting the weight of the franchise on his shoulders, Roy carried the team back into Western Conference relevancy after so many years of disappointment in Portland. Not everybody loved his iso-heavy style of play, but three All-Star selections, a return to the playoffs and frequent late-game heroics all became things to be proud of as a fan of both Roy and the Trail Blazers.
What’s even more worthy of consideration is the character of the person who no longer represents Rip City.
If Roy had a problem in the locker room or in the community, it would be easy to toss him aside and simply boo every time he torched the Blazers moving forward.
But Roy is no Zach Randolph. He’s not Rasheed Wallace or Darius Miles. He’s not even Greg Oden.
Very rarely did we hear an off-putting peep out of Roy. While his chemistry with the other guards on the roster wasn’t always perfect, he was always a part of the team and he was always considered a leader in Portland during the past five seasons.
Roy was loved by fans, and while it’s the name on the front of the jersey that counts, don’t be afraid to cheer for the guy no matter where he lands in the next chapter of his NBA career.
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