For
all of his questionable roster decisions, Minnesota Timberwolves GM David Kahn
tentatively redeemed himself by bringing in Ricky Rubio to form a one-two punch
with Kevin Love.
In
addition to acquiring Chase Budinger in a trade with the Houston Rockets on
Tuesday morning, Kahn is now poised to take the first step in adding another
veritable competitor, as ESPN Radio 1500 Minneapolis reported Monday night that the T-Wolves plan to
offer Brandon Roy a two-year contract.
Brandon Roy to Minnesota? (Getty Images/Jonathan Ferrey) |
This
comes less than two weeks after Roy took to his former college teammate’sTwitter account and announced his intention to return to the pro game. Roy
retired prior to the 2011-2012 season due to degenerative knees.
Bringing
Roy into the fold would give the Wolves a reliable scoring guard to compliment
Love’s bucket-filling forward role. But it’s been well documented that the
cartilage missing in Roy’s knees is not something that can be grown back or
replaced.
Given starter’s minutes, Roy
averaged 22.6 and 21.5 points per game as a Portland Trailblazer in ’08-’09 and
’09-’10, respectively. When it became obvious that Roy’s knees could not
support 37 minutes each contest, he took a diminished role, posting an average
of 12.2 points during his nightly 28 minutes on the floor in ’10-‘11.
Productive, yes, but at a price – Roy played in only 47 games that season,
sometimes on an every-other-night basis.
Another
issue that could make the Wolves’ offer a dream rather than a reality is that
Roy has also been tentatively linked to the Golden State Warriors and Los
Angeles Lakers, according to the New York Post's Peter Vecsey. Of the three, only one team can contend for a championship
immediately, and no one could blame Roy if he committed himself to chasing a
ring now, given his circumstances.
Due
to the amnesty clause the Blazers used on him, Roy is not constrained by the
rules applicable to other free agents. He can talk to teams at his leisure, and
take his time in signing anywhere.
A year off means Roy's joints have had time to rest, even with the training he's been doing in his hometown of Seattle to get back into NBA shape. The story of an All-Star career being derailed by injury is already set in stone, but it hasn't written out the possibility of a postscript to retirement.
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