Miller and Cho from Blazers edge

Well put.

 

Add the fact that Roy actually apologized to his teammates quickly - probably because there is a good chance that he was asked about what changed, answered what did - and did not think what the side-effects of his comments were - and it seems to me that this is not really that big a deal. Brandon was a good guy before - and he did not change overnight. He might have had to think better about what he said and reconcile his health situation with his words - but at the end of the day, this guy still is responsible as anyone for the transformation of this franchise from the jail-blazers days to a team that people actually care for and want to succeed.

 

From a "human" perspective, you are dead on. It is easy to forget that sometimes.

Everybody involved - from PA to the fans - need to separate the issues here. You can't sacrifice the good of the team for one individual. At the same time, there is no point in holding personal hostility towards Roy (or Oden).

I just wish some people could understand that being critical of a player's performance does not equate to "turning" on them.

 

And then there's the opposite viewpoint--meritocracy, not favoritism. Instead of special loyalty to a player, we should do what's best for the team. If Roy is kaput, and other teams don't realize it yet, then trade him while he's still overvalued. It's a business, not a college program.

 

If that was meant as an opposite viewpoint to mine...it isn't opposing what I said. I was talking about fans having some understanding, on a human level as oldmangrouch said. It had nothing to do with his on-court abilities and what steps the team should take. The team should be looking to move him if a good deal comes along and I have advocated a bench role for Roy.

I think Roy is a very diminished player and has limited value, but I don't think he deserves to be vilified.