Earlier Tuesday, we noted that former Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy attended an A+ Youth Foundation breakfast in Seattle. At the event, Roy was asked about a possible comeback to the NBA. Roy was waived by the Blazers in December 2011 using the amnesty clause and announced his medical retirement due to chronic knee problems.
Here's what Roy said on Tuesdayvia a storyviaKGW.
"The thing about the situation that I'm in is that I can always come back if I choose to. Having that option is always a good thing for me. I've been in the gym working out with Tony Wroten and you just find out how fast you miss the game.
"In the back of my mind, maybe this is something I may do again. But who knows? It's something right now where I'm enjoying playing and not playing with the pain I had last year after going through two knee surgeries. I was never the fastest or the highest leaper but being smart -- those are all little things I have up my sleeve if I do decide to play, those are all positives I do have going for me."
Blazers guard Jamal Crawford, a close friend of Roy, discussed a possible NBA comeback withSoftyonKJRradio in Seattle.Here's an audio link. Here's a partial transcript.
"Like I said last summer heading into the season, if you had not known anything with his knee injuries, and he just walked in the gym and you saw him play, you would say, 'OK, I see why he's a three-time All-Star, Rookie of the Year and all that.' I think even now we've been playing. He's got me in the gym earlier than I want to be in the gym. I wanted to take some time off. But he's back playing so I'm like, 'Alright i'm out there with you.' We've been playing and he's looked just as good as he did before the season started last summer. Actually I think he's in better shape now than he was. It's amazing how things work out. I think he's just enjoying it right now and seeing the potential of possibilities of what can happen in the future.
"I think he leans on his family and friends, people who he's known his whole life. For anybody, for us as athletes, those 2-3 hours away from everything is your escape. You don't think about what's going on off the court, you can deal with that afterwards. For him, that was taken away a little bit with having to retire. I couldn't imagine doing that. But Brandon is very, very mature and very wise beyond his years. He always handles things with his head held high and it inspires people when you do that. For him, getting on the court is therapeutic and I'm excited for the possibility of it even happening."
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter