Brandon Roy agreed to a 2-year $10.4 million contract to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in early July. Prior to that, he spent this past season retired. Or was he ever really retired?
Despite the fact that everybody said Brandon Roy was retired, it turns out he wasn't. Sound confusing? It's not to Roy, who recently clarified his situation last season by saying that his career had just been "on pause". Ben Golliver from BlazersEdge and CBSSportsline fame posted following from Brandon Roy on his Sullia account:
"Well, it never really was officially my decision to retire. With the process in Portland, I met with the team doctor, we talked for awhile, we have a really, really good relationship. He's a guy that's been working with me for five years with my knees. It was a situation where I went in for the physical, he thought it would be in my best interests to stop playing basketball because of my knees.
We pretty much left it up to the team to decide if they wanted to pursue the medical retirement route. After a week, they decided to use the amnesty. For me, it was never that I was retired. My knees were a situation that I was going to have to think about if I wanted to continue playing.
After a few months of sitting out, I decided, 'Hey, I don't want to stop playing basketball.' It's something I want to continue going forward with. It's never a situation where I said, 'I'm done forever.' It was more of a pause."
I can totally hear Michael Jordan right now, re-reading that take from Brandon somewhere in Charlotte. 'I wasn't retired, my career was just on pause. I like that. Hey Rich [Cho] how we fixed on Shooting Guards?'
Getting back to Roy, regardless of where he came from it's good to know he's on his way back next season. It didn't feel right when it looked like he might be done forever, and I'm glad he's not. Hopefully that doctor in Portland was being overly cautious when he recommended that Brandon stop playing basketball. Or if he wasn't, maybe that year off did his body some good. Hopefully when he hits play again on the Brandon Roy show in Minnesota he can pick back up where he left off in Portland.
