Brandon Roy: I'll never be 100%. Happy with 6th man role.

Re: Roy interview with Canzano

In fairness to his response, the question was on the lines of, "Would you accept a 6th man's role?".

 

Re: Roy interview with Canzano

Good point. Given the tone of the interview, if asked if he would be willing to come off the bench, he probably would have said yes.

I'm excited about Roy returning. A scorer coming off the bench and gving double digit scoring regularly would be just what that second unit needs.

It's Roy's defense that is a huge concern. But in Nate's system, if you don't play defense (and you aren't the team's star) . . . you are likely to get a lot less minutes than what you think you deserve. I could see this being an issue with Roy.

 

I guess I will just go ahead and be in whatever conversation I want to be in? All I am saying is that Roy has said one thing and changed his mind shortly thereafter before. I hope for his, the teams, and the fans sake he accepts the role that he can play.

 

My first thouht was that he would never think it's the best decision for the team with him as the 6th man.

 

You posted that Roy should renegotiate his contract in order to bring in another player that could help the team. I assumed that you meant it in relation to Roy's current cap hit, and how that inhibits roster flexibility. If not, what is the point of Roy renegotiating, except to Paul Allen's yearly payments? I mean, if Roy wants to do that, fine, but it doesn't at all impact the current CBA, and how to maneuver for more cap space.

 

It doesn't matter, because the cap implications are the same. That's explicitly spelled out in the CBA. Now, if something changes, and a buy-out is possible under a new CBA that also lowers cap space, then the team may want to buy him out.

The problem with julius' thought is that Roy's contract is still under the authority of the old CBA, so he can't renegotiate to a lower cap hit even if he wants to do it.

It's a strawman that really means nothing in reality.

 

Link to interview: http://www.955thegame.com/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=5136168

Fast forward to the 3 min mark for it to start.

 

Sorry, but I've posted it at least 4 times previously in other threads where the same idea was raised by posters.

Didn't mean to be an ass; just am one at times.

 

Pardon me if I don't get excited.

Even if Roy means every word, he is being paid to be one of the top 10-15 players in the league. If he can no longer play at THAT level, his contract makes him a liability.

 

Heh.

It's a good idea, and the first time I heard it I was all for it when I read it! Then I looked it up in the CBA before piling on, and found it was impossible for Roy to do it.

Roy is criticized enough on this board, so I overreact a bit (who, me?) when I see the foundation for another criticism that isn't realistic thrown around multiple times by multiple posters.

 

So, overall, pretty good news. While Brandon won't ever be 100% healthy, he and his doctors expect he will be able to play at a high level again. He's willing to accept a 6th man spot if his health or the needs of the team demand it. Sounds to me like he's being a professional about his situation. Maybe some folks around here could cut him a little slack and see if he carries through on his talk.

As far as the money goes, IIRC it doesn't matter when it's paid to the the athlete, it's calculated over the life of the contract in accordance with the maximum pay raises the CBA allows. I guess my take on this is that the Blazers actually could be in better shape from a cap standpoint going forward than if Roy, Oden, and Aldridge had all received the max contracts that we anticipated back when Oden was drafted. Aldridge accepted less than max money and now it looks like a bargain if he keeps playing the way he is. Oden won't approach max dollars with a new contract, although I expect that it will have an opt out for him so that he can get paid more money in the future if he stays healthy. Wesley's contract looks to be a bargain.

From a cap standpoint, it doesn't matter which players are getting the money. Roy probably will never be worth the money he's getting, but averaged over the total payroll, it's likely to be better than a lot of teams.

 

Perhaps I missed it, but were you lobbying for Roy to be paid more money when he was being paid on the rookie scale, yet playing as a Top 10-15 player in the league? What did his contract make him during those years? Last year, prior to his extension kicking in, he was still being paid as a rookie, yet was 3rd-team All-NBA. Were you complaining about Roy being a liability at that point?

 

add me to the list as well

 

The argument that Roy is no longer worth his contract is stupid, in the NBA you get paid for potential generally. I know everyone of the radio doctors is now coming out and saying that the Blazers knew that his knees were bad. At the same time, he played at a pretty high level in year one of his max deal. Does it suck that he has been forever changed, yes. Is he overpaid based on his current health? Yes. At the end of the day he could be a great player on this Blazer team, especially with LMA being the main man.

 

Yeah, that's what I posted. Not sure who you were referencing in this post. I just wonder if the same people now whining about Roy's contract today were as concerned when he was grossly outperforming his rookie contract. If not, I find it hard to take the current bitching seriously.

 

Sorry, but I don't see your point. Roy has gone from being a very good player, to being an average player. Grossly over-paying for an average player is not a recipe for success. Whether or not the contract was justified when he signed it, is beside the point.