Brandon Roy considering NBA comeback
It was a dark and depressing day for the city of Portland but for the entire league when Brandon Roy announced his retirement due to degenerative knees that have plagued him throughout his entire career. At only 27 years old, Roy was the star for Portland and a proud face of the franchise, averaging 12.2 points per game, 2.7 assists and 2.6 rebounds, his career average is 19 points per game, 4.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds and was named the 2006 Rookie of the Year and three-time NBA All-Star during his five years in a Blazers uniform.
On December 9, 2011 Roy announced his retirement on opening day of Portland basketball right after the lockout was lifted. He was told by doctors that if he ever planned to walk again in the future, he would need to stop playing all together.
A few months have gone by with little to no talk from Roy and he recently sat down with probasketballtalk.com and gave a hint that a possible venture back into the league is something he’s interested in:
‘It’s hard being away from the game. Don’t be surprised if you see Brandon Roy make his way back to the court…”
According to sources close to the player, regardless of his knee problems, Roy’s decision to retire wasn’t all health related. “There’s something to it, but it’s not the right time for me to get into it right now,” Roy said. “I’ve been doing some treatment and I’m trying to leave the window open to returning to basketball.”
When met with skepticism regarding his comeback, Roy explained, “It’s the truth. It’s really hard being so far away from the game. I spend time watching Jamal (Crawford) and following all of his games; Will (Conroy) and Tre (Simmons) are both doing their thing, so it’s driving me to wanna come back out there. If the treatment I’ve been looking into can work, I believe there’s a good chance you will see Brandon Roy back hoopin’.”
There’s no shot that Roy would be lacing up his Nike sneakers anytime soon. Not this year, he would have to spend about two years to get surgery and to heal, as well as getting back into shape. Comeback in the making? It’ll be nice, just as long as he doesn’t sign with another team, that’s something I and the rest of Rip City can’t imagine thinking.
photo courtesy of layupmag.com
Nicholas Filipas