Brandon Roy: It’s 50/50 That I’ll Sign An Extension This Summer
July 13, 2009 – 9:15 am by Tas MelasMuch like on the court, Brandon Roy’s confidence is oozing in this interview. The man feels like he is deserving of a max contract from the Blazers and it’s really hard to argue that at this point. I’m a little perplexed as to why Kevin Pritchard hasn’t had the maximum value contract offer prepared for the last few months; it should be in front of Roy right now. I understand KP is likely posturing to save a few million for other parts of the roster, but this is one guy Portland doesn’t want to low ball. Brandon Roy is worth the money – that’s what it comes down to. He’s given everything to Portland; I just hope Pritchard and the front office do the same in return. Roy joined KJR in Seattle to describe negotiations, the role he’s playing in recruiting free agents, how much money he deserves, and if he feels a deal will get done.
How are the negotiations going?
“Sometimes things may not go the way you want one day, and you may get better news the next. You know, my biggest thing is just staying patient, and knowing that I came in to this league and I’ve done everything I possibly could to get, I feel, a maximum contract. So, I just kind of have to wait and hope something comes through.”
Do you think an extension will be signed this summer?
“Umm, it’s hard to say. There’s days I feel good that something will get done, and then there’s days, you know, this might not happen. For me, it’s 50/50 right now. I would love for it to get done, because even when I was recruiting for college, I just wanted it to get done so I could start preparing for that school. That’s kind of the position I’m in right now – I would love to just get it over with so that way we can move forward, and I can be more involved with free agents and things like that.”
How much of a role are you playing in getting free agents to come to Portland?
“Right now, I’m not playing much of any role (laughs). It’s kind of hard for me to go out and recruit Hedo Turkoglu for five years when I only got one year guaranteed on my deal left. Right now, my focus is mainly on, ‘How can I secure my future?’ At the end of the day, this is a business but that is something I would like to be more a part of, but it’s just hard because there is a conflict of interests there. I would love for another really good player to come to Portland – I think we have a really great team – but, again, LaMarcus (Aldrdige) has his contract situation that he’s waiting to get resolved. It’s just really hard for us to go out and recruit when our situation isn’t really, I feel, even close to getting done.”
Listen to Brandon Roy on KJR in Seattle
Tags: Basketball, Brandon Roy, Hedo Turkoglu, NBA, Portland Trail Blazers
5 Responses to “Brandon Roy: It’s 50/50 That I’ll Sign An Extension This Summer”
This is like a week old now, and still not a single person outside of Brandon Roy, his agent, and the Blazer management knows any of the details of what the hang-up is. for all we know it could be about opt-in or opt-out clauses, the actual salary structure or any number of things.
Dwayne Wade is having similar issues, yet you barely hear a peep that Miami is screwing up royally by not locking up arguably one of the top 3 players in the NBA.
meh.
By Superfly on Jul 13, 2009
Roy will get his max. Bank on it.
By Tim on Jul 13, 2009
Portland has nothing to worry about, we will sign our all-stars(Roy, and soon to be Lamarcus)to a huge maximun contract. I am excited to see what our team has in store, we better find the right free agent to fill the 8 million that we have.
By Jeff on Jul 13, 2009
Being a Blazers fan from NJ, it is going to be even harder to follow my favorite team if our all star guard isn’t there for the following seasons.
By Andrew on Jul 13, 2009
when kobe and wade retire he’s gonna be da best player
By steve on Jul 13, 2009