Bucher and Broussard on Roy

Talking about if he'd fit in CHI if he was amnestied. Ouch.

Question: There is a chance he could stay with the Portland Trail Blazers, but if he doesn't, would Brandon Roy be a good fit for the Chicago Bulls?


BROUSSARD: With the Blazers considering using their amnesty clause to waive Roy, several clubs are weighing the possibility of signing the former All-Star shooting guard. One of those teams is Chicago. While the Bulls' chances of landing Roy are not high, since teams with cap room get the first shot at him, I think Roy would be a very good fit if they could get him.



There are better fits, to be sure. I like Nick Young in Chicago, for instance. But Roy would be a very nice addition to the Bulls, one that could potentially get them out of the Eastern Conference.




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BUCHER: I'm a big fan of Roy and his game, and it kills me that his body has let him down this fast, even if it was quietly considered a possibility by some when he was drafted. But he's a terrible fit for the Bulls, and as much as I don't want to see Gar Forman or John Paxson lose their jobs, they should be fired if Roy's name is even on their dry erase board. From a basketball standpoint, even if healthy, he makes no sense other than he's a scoring 2 and Chicago needs one.





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CB: Wow, that was a strange take. First, I guess Forman and Paxson should be canned, because Roy is definitely on their list. Secondly, after all your dismissing of Roy, you end your spiel with "he makes no sense other than he's a scoring 2 and Chicago needs one."



Precisely. The Bulls' one Achilles' heel is at shooting guard. Add a legitimate starting 2 and Chicago could very well be the team to beat in the East, if not the entire league. We all realize that Roy's knee injuries have diminished his ability, but he still averaged 12.2 points a game last season, which would be nearly three times as much as last season's starting 2 (Keith Bogans, 4.4 ppg). And before you mention backup Ronnie Brewer, a sub-par Roy nearly doubled Brewer's ppg (6.2). That's not to mention Roy's 16- and 24-point playoff performances against Dallas last season.



While they might be superior defenders to Roy, the Bulls' team defensive scheme can still excel with Roy in the lineup. Great defensive teams like the Bulls aren't great because all five players play excellent individual defense. They're great because of their team concepts. And two great defensive anchors like Luol Deng and Joakim Noah will also keep them strong.




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RB: The Bulls need a scoring 2, but that doesn't mean any 2 will do. Not when you're a team trying to improve on going to the conference finals. Not when your point guard is the defending league MVP. And not when chemistry was one of the team's biggest assets.



Roy doesn't fit because he plays at an entirely different pace than the Bulls at their best. He's always been methodical, but the knee issues have really forced him to eat up the shot clock trying to shake a defender and it no longer takes a second one to stop him. There was a time when the Blazers didn't care how much he handled it because he was incredibly effective, drew double-teams and made big shots when it mattered. All of that is so two years ago.



You can't possibly think that 18-point fourth quarter vs. the Mavs in the first round was anything more than a proud man rising up one last time for a fiercely loyal home crowd. There's no telling if he has another one of those left in him or when he might be able to give it. He sure couldn't the next two games. Why do you think the Blazers took him off the ball in favor of Andre Miller in the first place? And why do you think they're ready to amnesty one of the most popular players in franchise history?



Because he not only isn't a playmaker anymore, he struggled mentally and scheme-wise playing off the ball to the point the Blazers were a more successful and happier bunch without him. Now you want the Bulls to use their one shot at upgrading at the 2 on that? You want coach Tom Thibodeau either to take the ball out of Derrick Rose's hands as the team's playmaker or deal with Roy's black cloud if he doesn't?

As for great defenses, the NBA standard is that a really good scheme can hide one mediocre defender, but not two. The Bulls already have their quota with Carlos Boozer. So Roy can't do much more than get his own points on offense anymore and he surely can't take the burden off Rose to be the Bulls' perimeter defensive stopper down the stretch. Yet he's a 2 who would make them better? I don't see it.




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CB: While Roy clearly handled the ball a lot earlier in his career, I believe he can be effective playing off the ball. He actually showed that at times last season. Remember, that was a big adjustment for him when they put the ball in Miller's hands; not only from a physical standpoint, but also from a mental standpoint. Roy had been an All-Star, the face of the franchise and a max guy, so to all of a sudden be relegated to playing a lesser role is very tough on a club that had been "your team."



I believe it would be much easier for Roy to accept a lesser role on another team, which is why I like him in Chicago. First, he's been humbled by his drop in production and by being waived (assuming he is). Secondly, he would go to the Bulls knowing full well that they are Rose's team. It's much easier to go elsewhere and be a role player than to have to become one on a team you used to lead, especially when you're still young (27).



Obviously, Rose would handle the ball most of the time, but with Roy, the Bulls could also take Rose off the ball at times, which would take pressure off him. Rose wouldn't be forced to create everything offensively for the Bulls since Roy is also a playmaker. When off the ball, he could focus on one of his greatest strengths -- scoring.



As for great team defenses that feature more than one poor defender, how about Cleveland in the LeBron James era -- Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall, Sasha Pavlovic. Both Ray Allen and Paul Pierce in Boston were regarded as sub-par defenders for most of their careers, and Orlando reached the Finals as a top defensive team starting Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson/Rafer Alston. In Thibodeau's system, Roy's smarts and toughness would enable him to fit in nicely.




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RB: I thought you were from Cleveland; shouldn't you know, then, that Pavlovic and Jones were rarely on the floor together, that Marshall with his length was not as bad a defender as often portrayed and that, most important, the Cavs were a decent defensive team, not a great one, when those guys were together? (They didn't give up points because they played a walk-it-up style, but they were never a top-5 team in defensive field goal percentage.)



As for Roy, playing off the ball isn't merely a change in attitude, it requires a different skill set. I don't recall Roy ever getting comfortable playing off the ball as much as Nate McMillan improved at how he played Roy and Miller together and what they ran.



There's also a catch to changing teams: You're going to a new system, which means you need a ton of practice time to get it down and get in synch with your new teammates. The Bulls go as hard every day as any team in the league. Roy's knees can't hold up to that, not if you want him playing at night. So how's that going to work? How's he going to mesh with that great team defense if he can't consistently get on the floor? How's he going to get up to speed with their offense? Those weren't factors with Portland because he'd been there long before his knees acted up.



There are no sure bets among the 2s available to the Bulls -- Caron Butler, Josh Howard, Nick Young, Jamal Crawford, Jason Richardson -- but if you're going to roll the dice on damaged goods, I'd rather have a guy who already is once removed from his glory-days team -- like Butler or Howard. Both of them are better defenders than Roy as well.



Or if you're going to go with a scorer, get one who has done it without being the primary threat (Richardson, Young, Crawford). I'd like nothing more than to see Roy find a team he can help and the Bulls find a shooting guard who can complement Rose for the long term. The Bulls aren't that team for Roy, and Roy isn't that player for the Bulls.



Chris Broussard and Ric Bucher are senior writers for ESPN The Magazine

 

I think Bucher owned Broussard in that debate. I hope Roy can prove him wrong, both in terms of attitude and skill-set.