What is with Blazer fans and the fascination of retiring jersey's? Seriously, the guy was good and all but he never won a playoff series and we're going to hang #7 up at the RG?
I seem to recall that Roy was one of the five or so players that the standard league insurance didn't cover.
Are we really retiring his number!?!??! I love B but man. Like you said. He never won us a Playoff Series!
Where is the proof the "gamed the system". Portland could have tried to medically retire him, but the amnesty clause in the CBA made that option unnecessary, and was a cleaner separation for Portland that couldn't be messed up by another team (a la Chris Wallace/Darius Miles).
This is the fascination of many on this board and I think many Blazer fans in general. They see all the guys up there that don't really deserve it and think "Roy's was as good if not better then most of them, so he belongs" when in reality it's that most of the guys up there don't belong. I mean the Lakers have 7 guys hanging in the rafters, that jumper will jump to 9 soon but it still won't match the 10 we currently have.
HERE'S THE QUESTION: Did we amnesty Roy because he retired, or did her retire because we amnestied him? One makes us look smart, and one makes us look like fools. Either way, something is fishy about the whole thing. Here is the face of franchise back, less than a year later, playing on a different team.
The Blazers amnestied Roy because paying franchise player money to someone who's probably done as even an average player (when playing time is factored in) is franchise-crippling. So, the second one. It seems pretty obvious to me unless you can explain to me why the Blazers would be better off with a massive salary on their salary structure for a player who's shot.
Aldridge has been the real face of the franchise for two years now. Brandon should have stayed retired.
Why? He's 28 years-old and hasn't played in a game since he was 26. It's all he's ever known in his life. I think a lot of people underestimate the ego and self-belief it takes to be truly world-class at anything. Most of us, myself included, live mediocre work lives in terms of what we offer the marketplace and are easily replaceable, but Roy was literally one of the best in the world at what he did. I guess I don't see why people are so surprised he wants to give it another shot. How many All-Star level athletes quietly walk away from the game in their primes, even if they've had injury issues. Barry Sanders and Jim Brown are the only two I can think of in a span of 50 years, and neither had major injuries, which makes their decision all the more rare. Bill Walton 'came back' repeatedly and now can barely walk. Grant Hill missed years of his career while of "prime" age, yet still came back. I'd say that's more the norm than a guy who just says "well, I gave it a shot, but these darn knees just won't do it".
I didn't say that I don't understand why he is trying to play again. I said he should have stayed retired. He is going to fail. His knees will not magically heal themselves and he will have to retire again. I'm guessing he'll at least make it through one season before he decides to hang em up. He should have just saved himself all the trouble and pain that he will suffer en route to finally realizing that he can't do what he used to, and the eventual acceptance that he is done. If he needs to do this to get closure, so be it, and I have no hard feelings towards him, but ultimately it will be a waste of time and it's possible he could do more damage to his knees in the process.
Yeah, but that's easier said than done, especially when it isn't your life and dream. This is all he's worked towards for the majority of his life and if he feels he has to make every effort to keep it alive before it's gone for good, I really can't disagree with him.
Well, I've said before that I think it's unfortunate that Roy never really got closure in his final year with the Blazers. He was out for a long period of time and then he tried to play at the end of the season and wasn't back all the way. At least this way he'll get a full season or two and can fully evaluate his capabilities. With that said, I still think he's wasting his time and it's possible he could do further damage to his knees in the process. Is that worth it? He doesn't need money. He accomplished quite a bit in his five years with the Blazers, and at this point he has no hope of ever returning to his All-Star form, so what is he hoping to achieve? If he was hoping to win a championship, he signed with the wrong team.
I dont think him being amnestied would have any impact on insurance since the amnesty rule wasnt around when Roy's insurance policy would have been written up. I think that if he does end up playing for Minni, it will eliminate any insurance relief the Trail Blazers would have gotten. It'd be nice if a local reporter got to the bottom of this.
I don't think it's any more complicated than to keep after what he built his life around until it's simply no longer possible. I don't think it's about money (though, of course, like almost any person, he'll take the money he can get) or about winning a title at this point.
I don't think it's about money either.... Minnesota offered him a nice deal and he took it. I totally understand why he's doing it. I get it. I'm just saying I think it's pointless and I would be interested to hear what kind of damage he could do to his knees (if any) by playing again.
