Carmelo Anthony is back after officially signing with the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. However, the Blazers did not make his jersey number 7 available to Melo.

No. 7 hasn't been sported since Brandon Roy last wore it in 2011.

Trail Blazers faithful believe and hope that Roy’s No. 7 will eventually be retired by Portland.

In the latest edition of the Talkin' Blazers Podcast with Channing Frye and Dan Sheldon, the two discussed B-Roy’s legacy.

Frye raises the question: “How do you tell the history of the Blazers without Brandon Roy?”

“Injuries aside, that guy was one of the best players," Frye said on the latest Talkin’ Blazers Podcast. “I’ve played with Hall of Fame guys, and his injury out of all the injuries I’ve seen in the NBA, cut one of the best careers short. That guy was a constant professional, he knew basketball, he was a great teammate, and great leader, and he was a winner. When it came down to winning time, he wanted the ball and he knew how to score and he knew how to make plays.”

There’s no doubt that both Frye and Roy are two fan-favorites in Rip City in different ways.

But for Frye, he had a lot of praise for how B-Roy fought through pain. 

“I seen him in a game where he drained his knee,” Frye said. “It was disgusting how much stuff came out of his knee. And he went and gave Phoenix 52 points. At that point, I knew he was the real deal Holyfield.”

If a player is ‘the real deal Holyfield’ it would be hard to believe his jersey number would not get retired.

Listen to the full Talkin' Blazers podcast below:

If ever it was no surprise that somebody was going to have to sit out a game because of back spasms, it’s tonight with Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers.

The man has been carrying this team on his back all season, leading the league in minutes – and those were some pretty stressful, high-usuage-rate minutes, at that. No wonder Damian Lillard has back spasms.

You don’t believe in load management? Well, you probably don’t believe in flu shots, either, right?

It’s the same thing. You don’t have the flu when you get that shot -- you get the shot to keep you from having the flu. Same with load management. You are healthy enough to play in a game, but rather than stress your body another night, you rest. You rest to prevent injuries – which is easier than trying to treat the injury once you get it. And you stave off fatigue that comes from piling game on top of game.

The Trail Blazers are in the midst of a six-game road trip that offers too much travel, too many games and are tonight playing the second of back-to-back games. Lillard should probably sit this game out even if his back wasn’t hurting.

More and more, people are coming to realize that the density of the schedule combined with a lack of sleep that occurs because of the crazy cross-time-zone travel leads to fatigue. And fatigue leads to injuries.

The Trail Blazers, for whatever reasons, have refused to rest healthy players over the years. Part of this, I’m sure, is because the players themselves wish to play. And the team wants to win every possible game in order to make the playoffs. But that shouldn’t matter. The team needs to step up and protect players from themselves. Particularly a player such as Lillard, who knows how important he is to his squad.

Will resting players cause losses? Yes, of course. Not all the time, but sometimes. But would you rather lose a player for three months because of a severe injury, or just lose a game or two here or there?

And when I think back about the troubles this team has had keeping franchise players healthy, I believe more than ever that load management could have been an answer.

Bill Walton, Sam Bowie, Greg Oden, Brandon Roy – would any of them have lasted a little longer with a lighter load? Maybe sitting out a game here and there or playing with a limit on minutes? I think that’s possible.

Obviously, there is no way to prove any of those players – or Lillard – would have profited from load management, but I’d certainly favor giving it a try.

And at some point, the league is going to have to explore shortening the schedule. This is too much and players are paying a price for it.

We're counting down the days until the Portland Trail Blazers open up the 2019-2020 NBA season by looking back at each of the home opener wins (the streak is now at 18). Here is a look at what happened back in 2006 when the Portland Trail Blazers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves in their home-opener.

Can’t remember what the NBA was like in 2006? Let’s paint the picture:

• Due to Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Hornets played most of their home games in Oklahoma City for the second season in a row.  
• Allen Iverson played for the Nuggets
• Steve Nash was the reigning MVP 
• The Heat were the defending champions
• Chris Paul had just won Rookie of the Year
• Andrea Bargnani was the No.1 overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft
• The Blazers had the No.4 pick and drafted Tyrus Thomas. 
• They would trade Thomas to Chicago that same night in return for LaMarcus Aldridge. 
• They also traded Randy Foye to Minnesota in return for the rights to the No.6 pick. The Minnesota selection? Brandon Roy. The rest is history. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves jumped on the Blazers early, grabbing the 30-14 lead after the first quarter. It looked like the home-opener win streak could be in jeopardy. But the Blazers scratched and clawed their way back into the game. They outscored the Timberwolves in the second and third quarters, then held them to just 12 points in the fourth. The Blazers trailed 86-85 with under a minute to play before Juan Dixon hit a clutch three from the corner to give the Blazers the one-point lead with 6.2 seconds remaining. Minnesota had one last shot, but Kevin Garnett missed an eight-foot jumper and the Blazers claimed another victory. 

Notable stats: 

Minnesota -

Kevin Garnett – 20 points, 10 rebounds.

Ricky Davis– 16 points, 7 assists

Mike James – 19 points, 7 assists

Portland –

Brandon Roy – 16 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds

Travis Outlaw – 18 points, 15 rebounds

Zach Randolph – 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assist

LaMarcus Aldridge: DNP, Inactive

The Blazers would go on to finish the season 32-50, an 11 game improvement on the previous season, but would once again miss the playoffs. 

The Blazers traded Caleb Swanigan to the Sacramento Kings at the trade deadline, swapping the second-year big man for Skal Labissiere. The trade itself was just a trade of project players, but what followed is what has grabbed the interest of Blazers fans. 

According to NBA reporter Sean Highkin, Labissiere asked the Blazers if he could wear No.7, but the Blazers quickly shot him down. No, the No.7 isn't retired, but it is sacred - It was the number worn by Brandon Roy. 

So the question is, should the Blazers retire No.7?

Is this really a question? 

Some people out there say no. They argue that Roy only played five seasons in Portland. They argue that he never won them a championship. They argue to argue. 

The fact of the matter is Roy is one of the greatest players to wear the red and black. While he never won a championship with the Blazers, or took them deep in the playoffs for that matter, he did something far greater given the time in history - He rescued Portland from the Jail Blazers era. 

The year prior to Roy's arrival the Blazers finished with a 21-61 record, their worst record since the 1972-73 season when they also went 21-61, and their second-worst season in franchise history.

Players like Sebastian Telfair, Darius Miles, Ruben Patterson, and Zach Randolph continued to have issues on and off the court, and attendance was at an all-time low. 

Then Roy came along. He took over as a leader and face of the franchise from day one. He won NBA Rookie of the Year, turned the league on its head, and ushered in a new era. 

In his third season all remnants of the Jail Blazers were gone, and after hitting the lowest of lows prior to his arrival, the Blazers were now riding high. Roy led the team to a 54-28 record in 2008-2009, tied for the fifth best record in team history. In 2009-2010 the Blazers once again won 50 games, making it just the third time in franchise history Portland had back-to-back 50 win seasons.

Unfortunately, the Blazers lost in the first round of the playoffs in both of those seasons, but Roy's status as the franchise savior was already set in stone. He could do no wrong.

The quick rise of Roy and the Blazers came to a screeching halt in 2011 Roy's knee problems forced him to retire before he ever hit his prime. Roy would try to come back in 2012-2013 with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but played just five games before walking away from the game for good.

Roy's time in Rip City was short, but his impact will last a lifetime. Roy will forever be known as the man that helped save the franchise. For that, his No.7 is untouchable. 

The Blazers know it. That's why they wouldn't give it to Labissiere. Should they retire it and hang it in the rafters where it belongs? Absolutely. 
There is something so special about the No.7 that I would be fine if no Blazers player ever wore it again. 

No.7 was Roy's then. It's Roy's now. It's Roy's forever. 

*Check out the video above to hear what the Blazers Outsiders had to say about Roy's No.7*

The former Portland Trail Blazers guard is making a big name and now another big move in the high school coaching basketball world. Brandon Roy will now be returning to his alma mater Garfield High School in Seattle, WA to coach the men's basketball team. 

It's official!! Brandon Roy is the new Garfield basketball head coach. #legacy

— Garfield HS Sports (@garfield_sports) May 25, 2017

After a successful first 2016-2017 coaching season at Nathan Hale High School, also in Seattle, WA, Roy coached the Raiders to a perfect 29-0 overall record, a 15-0 district record, a WIAA 3A State Championship, a No. 1 national ranking, and the No. 1 prospect in the nation Michael Porter Jr. He was also awarded the Naismith National HS Coach of the Year (2017). Not a bad first year at all. 

Roy now looks to continue his coaching successes at Garfield High School, who last season had an overall record of 23-6, three of those losses coming from Roy and Nathan Hale. Last season, Garfield held the No. 2 overall WA state ranking behind Nathan Hale, a No. 47 national ranking, and a visit to the WIAA 3A state championship game but lost 68-51 to you guessed it, Nathan Hale. Can you smell a little rivalry in the air? This move from Roy should make this upcoming WIAA 3A basketball season very interesting. 

Former Garfield coach Ed Haskins, who is now joining the Washington State Cougars men's basketball staff, tweeted about Roy heading to the "Dogghouse":

CONGRATS TO B ROY on returning home to the Dogghouse... #NEXTLEVEL #LEGACYCONTINUES #B4L pic.twitter.com/V5Mbn2ybFl

— Ed Haskins (@ed_haskins) May 25, 2017

For more information on this move from Roy, check out this article from Seattle Times reporter Nathan Joyce. 

According to Steve Bunin of King 5 news in Seattle, former Blazers star Brandon Roy was injured in a shooting incident in Los Angeles over the weekend.

Sam Amick of USA Today Sports is reporting the same, indicating he was shot in the leg outside his grandmother's house near LA while shielding children from the gunfire. 

Roy was reportedly treated in southern California and, per the report by Bunin, has already returned to the Seattle area to recover.

Roy is the current head coach at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle. After a nice college career at the University of Washington he was drafted with the 6th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves before a draft night trade landed him with the Portland Trail Blazers. 

The Trail Blazers released the following statement on the incident:

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Former Trail Blazers All-Star Brandon Roy will coach high school basketball in his hometown of Seattle, Wash. Roy will take over the head coaching position at Nathan Hale High School, according to Chris Fetters, editor of dawgman.com and Seattle Sports Radio 950 KJR contributor. 

BREAKING: Former @UW_MBB AA Brandon Roy has taken over the head coaching position at Nathan Hale - https://t.co/52cQ24qi34 #Dawgman

— ⭐️Chris Fetters⭐️ (@Chris_Fetters) June 24, 2016