Will the Blazers amnesty Roy? Should they amnesty Roy?

Fair enough.

 

Why don't you tell us GOD?! Why you always gotta leave us hanging?

It will all come down to this: can the Blazers be the 2011 Mavs in the Playoffs? If yes, you keep Roy, if No, you don't. It's a given the Nation Media would say No, but I consider them the least informed.

LaMarcus Aldridge =/≠ Dirk Nowitzki
Nicholas Batum =/≠ Shawn Marion
Wesley Mathews =/≠ DeShawn Stevenson
Raymond Felton =/≠ Jason Kidd
Brandon Roy =/≠ Jason Terry
Greg Oden =/≠ Tyson Chandler
Marcus Camby =/≠ Brendan Haywood
Gerald Wallace =/≠ Peja Stojakovic
Nolan Smith/AJ/EW =/≠ JJ Barea

IMO we match the skill of the Mavs, and have most all the pieces, it's simply our offense that needs to be refined. (With G.O. our Defense is unmatched)

As I see, I'm guessing the Blazers do as well, were not far off. And Roy will be priceless to keep around for the Clutch.

 

If we want Freedland next year, would it be wise to cut Roy now and sign a free agent? Would that not make the chances tougher on Freedland? Or should we wait a year, see how Roy responds, and then use the amnesty? Maybe it makes no difference for Freedland, and I am too lazy to look up all the numbers, but regardless I still say wait.

 

Good Question Pinwheel

Bold indicating an inflection in his voice, alluding to (IMO), that they will wait till next year or further to amnesty Roy.

 

Do I get to see him play first? Even a practice scrimmage?

How can one make a vote without knowing jack diddly about his condition and readiness to play?

 

Exactly, exactly why they wont make the decision to cut him in time.

Poll is consistently 50-50, people who believe the Blazers are close, and those who think were still far off (IMO)

 

That would be great! Of course only if he cant be close to the old Roy.

 

^^ Agree.

 

You make the best decision you can based upon what you consistently saw from him last yr, the fact that his knees are bone on bone and there is no cure, and the likelihood they worsen the more he plays on them. I respect the opinion that some want to see one mor eyear for him and see what he's got, I personally have seen enough that I support the amnesty now plan

 

I voted that they will and they should amnesty Roy. It pains me a lot to do that because Brandon Roy is in my top 3 favorite Blazers of all time. I also think that he is likely to have more left in his tank than many around here expect. The problem is, no matter how much I wish it were otherwise, I just can't see him being able to consistently play the kind of minutes that are necessary for a player who is taking up so much of the team's cap space. Keeping him for a year to see what he can do is where I have been on this issue, but I really think that the jury is in on that if you use your head instead of your heart. No meniscus means no All-Star-level game. Having Brandon lighting it up and playing great one game out of 3 or 4 just keeps his teammates from developing a consistent style of play and identity of their own. Keeping him on the roster means fewer options in terms of adding needed players. Any way I slice it, as a GM I'd have to waive him. I'll wish him the best and I'll root for him whenever his new team isn't playing the Blazers, but bottom line, Brandon has to find a new home...and that truly sucks.

 

^^ Good post. You are probably right. But I still am hoping we give it one more year. I honestly think the situation will play itself out because his knee's wont allow him to play and he'll retire.

 

Yeah, except for one problem:

Amnesty Roy now (as opposed to next summer) and the team still will have NO CAP SPACE.

Cap space if keep Roy = 0
Cap space if amnesty Roy = 0

 

We would be able to use the entire MLE though. That will make a huge difference in the ability to land a FA that can help us going forward. It's also a huge chunk of change in Paul's wallet. Save 10 mil tax, 5 mil salary, and also be able to receive tax money from taxed teams. It's quite a chunk like 20 mil ish

 

1) I have yet to see clear solid confirmation that the Blazers would have the full MLE if they amnesty Roy. So far just speculation.

2) The ideas expressed are contradictory. Either Paul Allen is excited to save money (my estimate $10mil, your $20mil) if he can amnesty Roy immediately, or he isn't excited about saving that money.

If he is interested in the savings, then why would he be so anxious to throw the full MLE contract at some 2nd rate free agent? (be honest, that is what we are talking about.

You need to get your theme straight:

A) Is Allen interested in saving bucks?

B) Or, is Allen interested in going all out for a playoff run before his cancer comes back?

C) Or, is Allen interested in maintaining long-term cost containment, while still having a competitive and popular roster?

A means amnesty Roy and DO NOT use full MLE (if available)

B can mean keep Roy for 1 year to see if he can hit some game winning shots. Or, it could mean amnesty Roy and use Camby in a sign and trade for a quality starter.

C means keep Roy to ease the PR hit and amnesty him next season. Don't use the full MLE this season on a 2nd rate player.

 

During the lock-out, PA was aligned with the hard-liners.

That makes it rather hard to believe he is still in a spend-to-win frame of mind.

 

I still believed it was because he knew the league would be better off in the long run with the hard line approach, not because he wanted to save money.

 

Initially I thought taking a wait and see approach with Roy for a year would be ok. Lately I'm starting to lean away from that position though. If we intend on cutting him next season it would be better to just do it now and begin the transition into the post-Roy era. The team needs to see if Wes/Nic/Felton/Gerald can fill in for some of the things Roy did in the offense. Obviously none of them can replace what an all-star Roy did, but can they provide enough to be good contributiors on a contending team? We need to know how the rest of these guys fit before we hand out new huge contract extensions for them. If those guys can be key starting pieces we may only be one more player away from contening. But if those guys can't perform well enough, we should consider letting them walk as free agents and doing a complete rebuild around LaMarcus.

Cutting Roy comes down to this question; Can Roy's health improve to where he's worth keeping on the roster at a max contract? He doesn't have to be an all-star again, but he'd have to be an above average starting NBA player. If there is no realistic chance of Roy staying here for the duration of his entire contract then we should cut him now.

 

We will still be over the cap if we amnesty Roy.
We can only use the amnesty on players that are under contract right now, so that really limits our options. Cant use it 4 years from now on a guy we sign this summer. We obviously wont use it on Matthews, Batum, Aldridge, Camby (one year left), Felton (one year left). Roy is really our only option.

 

I can see your point. It is a tough decision. It may be mentally harder on Roy if we keep him. I can see the "dead man barely walking" references as the season progresses. I don't think he is done and i don't want him helping someone else. But I think between the media and the fans he will be reminded every day of his salary in Portland. No doubt there would be less pressure on him if he goes.