UPDATE 6:01 pm: Over the course of the day multiple reports have confirmed that Brandon Roy has been diagnosed with a degenerative condition in his knee and he has decided to walk away from basketball.
The latest confirmation came when media at Blazers training camp spoke to forward Gerald Wallace, who confirmed that coach Nate McMillan had told the team Roy was retiring, reports Ben Golliver of Blazers Edge. Blazers players also said they had no indications this was coming.
10:35 am: It’s probably for the best. But I still feel robbed of what could have been.
Brandon Roy is going to announce his retirement due to medical reasons, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN. Multiple reports now suggest he has been diagnosed with a degenerative knee disease that will get worse, not better over time.
Secondary reports — from Ken Berger at CBSSports.com — say that Roy is leaning toward retirement heading into a meeting with Trail Blazers brass today. So maybe this isn’t set in stone.
It cannot be easy for Roy, who loves the game and has had his body betray him.
Roy has missed much of last season due to his knees, which essentially just have no cartilage left. He has tried rest and a variety of treatments, and has shows flashes of being fine — his brilliant Game 4 against Dallas in the playoffs last year reminded us of what he could do.
He was expected to join the Blazers for training camp this season and team officials said they would not use the amnesty on him. He was going to get one more shot.
But if he had a setback, he may have realized it was time.
Which is sad. This is a guy who would have been one of the NBA’s elite guards, the franchise anchor in Portland for years. It would have been a marvelous career.
I feel robbed not getting to see it. Portland fans feel worse.
But this is probably for the best.