Brandon

Roy

LSU’s Tyrus Thomas and Texas’ LaMarcus Aldridge looked strong in workouts for Chicago last week, as well. “Roy is this year’s Chris Paul if he starts,” one general manager said last week. “When it’s all said and done, he’s the rookie of the year. He doesn’t quite have NBA three-point range yet, but he’s got everything else and is ready to go.”

Both players are going to be solid NBA players, so it’s tough to say who is getting the better end of the deal.

He’s our early pick for Rookie of the Year, especially since Rashad McCants could miss the season with a knee injury. He’s not flashy, but may be the most NBA-ready player in this draft, along with Adam Morrison and Shelden Williams. He could also see some time at point guard for the Wolves.

Roy was the sixth overall pick in the 2006 draft. Under the rookie salary scale, Roy will make $4.69 million in the first two years of the deal that runs through 2007-08. The Trail Blazers hold club options for the next two years of the contract.

Roy, the No. 6 pick in last week’s NBA draft, had eight assists to go with 12 points and five rebounds in the Blazers’ 88-82 loss to Houston. The Blazers are hoping that they can play Roy and Martell Webster together in the backcourt. PG Jarrett Jack, a second-year player, is not on the summer team after having ankle surgery, and Dan Dickau also is recovering from surgery on his Achilles’ tendon. Steve Blake and unsigned Spaniard Sergio Rodriguez are the other point guards in the Blazers’ fold.

Large companies get sued all of the time so unless a subsequent report comes through the pipeline we doubt anything will come of this. If there is any evidence of impropriety then the timing will be bad for the owners to say the least.

Portland hasn’t contacted either executive, however, and they seem in no rush to replace Rich Cho. As we’ve noted before, the Blazers’ GM job isn’t exactly glamorous given Greg Oden and Brandon Roy’s injury woes and the overbearing presence of owner Paul Allen.

According to Yahoo! Sports, “There’s suspicion that [Allen’s] motives center on saving as much money as possible in this CBA to eventually ready his franchise for a sale.” The Blazers also have yet to hire a new GM, and may not have contacted purported candidate (and Jazz executive) Kevin O’Connor. Even if Allen has no intentions of selling the Blazers, his take-it-or-leave it approach has introduced an acrimonious element to CBA talks.

Take this with a major grain of salt. Back at the end of February, rumors swirled that Roy was contemplating a comeback, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be physically able to do it. He’s got chronic problems with his knees and faces an uphill battle to return. Even if Roy does make a comeback, it’s hard to imagine him being the player he once was during his tenure with the Blazers. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent if he does decide to return after Portland used its amnesty clause on him before the season.

“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.” Consider him a long shot to resume his career, and avoid him in fantasy if he does decide to give it a try at some point.