Blazers Intend to Keep Brandon Roy

The Blazers’ front-office tried to quell talk of possibly using the amnesty clause on Brandon Roy, insisting that he’s a part of the team going forward, and may even play a larger role going into the new season. From the Oregonian: “Our plan is for Brandon to be a part of this team going forward,’ team president Larry Miller said. ‘Hopefully he will show us what he can do.’ Miller, acting GM Chad Buchanan and coach Nate McMillan met with Roy, then talked about the upcoming season in an afternoon news conference at the Rose Garden. They revealed that Roy told them he feels better than he did at the start of last season, and at the moment it seems the team might not use the amnesty clause to waive Roy, as many figured it would. McMillan, in fact, went so far as to say he would consider starting Roy, a three-time All-Star who was limited to 47 games last season because of issues with his knees. ‘We have not seen him back in the starting lineup,’ McMillan said. ‘That’s something we’re going to take a look at.’ Team President Larry Miller and acting GM Chad Buchanan say there are no plans to use the amnesty clause on Brandon Roy, and coach Nate McMillan even mentions the possibility of Roy returning to the starting lineup. This despite the fact that the Blazers, and the NBA’s other teams, will play a compressed 66-game schedule that could put pressure on Roy’s health. McMillan said he has not been told that there would be any restrictions on playing Roy, although he acknowledged it was not known how the schedule would affect Roy.”