There was no disclaimer that came with the report out of Spain today that the Portland Trail Blazers retired all-star guard Brandon Roy had arrived to meet with a team there and has been offered a contract for the rest of the season, so consider this the warning call.
The Spanish-based website Solobasket reported the rumor with a number of other basketball sites around Spain leaving readers to determine fact from fiction here.
The questionable scoop: the Spanish team Caja Laboral — who plays in the ACB Spanish league and is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain — was eliminated from Turkish Airlines Euroleague, competition and has offered Roy a contract based on playing one game per week to give his knees and body time to rest and adjust to getting back on the floor.
The report goes on to say how Roy was seen at the airport in Vitoria with agent Arn Tellem (although Greg Lawrence represents Roy) in the late hours of the night.
If this is a team searching for a PR move, it’s a poor attempt at a humorless situation.
On December 10th, Roy announced his retirement because of ongoing trouble with his knees after five-years in the league. He’s battled the pain for the past two seasons and said he lacks cartilage between the bones in both of his knees.
His Blazers teammates were informed of Roy’s shocking decision to retire before Portland’s first training camp practice, after the 27-year-old guard spent the previous day weighing his future after a medical evaluation determined his knees couldn’t take another long season in the NBA.
Roy averaged 19 points, 4.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds during his time in the league. He was left to sit and rest his sore knees last season and had arthroscopic surgery on both knees last January. He finished the 2010-11 season with a career-low 12.2 points in 47 games.
But what about one game a week on the weekends?
That’s what Caja Laboral is essentially offering him.
Then again, it’s hard to know what to believe with this report – or far reaching rumor – on Roy.
Update: multiple sources in Spain including a team rep from Caja have confirmed there is no basis for this report. All of Portland is thankful.
