NBA Rumor: Brandon Roy tells Portland “Me or Andre Miller”
Brandon Roy (photo. Aaron Hewitt)
From the outside looking in — Brandon Roy‘s ominous knee issues notwithstanding — it seemed the least of the Portland Trail Blazers’ worries was their backcourt. Two months ago, I watched the Blazers beat the Knicks in New York’s home opener behind B-Roy’s 29 points and Andre Miller‘s 19 points and 10 assists. One month ago, I ranked Miller and Roy the 3rd-best guard tandem in the NBA.
Today, it seems Portland’s franchise centerpiece (Roy) and its veteran floor general (Miller) are headed for an ugly end to their relationship. From ESPN‘s Chris Broussard:
After Monday’s loss to Memphis, Roy all but blamed his struggles this season on Miller, saying “I wasn’t that slow until you put a guy who is kind of slow next to me. I’ve always been kind of slow. Not to be controversial at all, but I was slow my rookie year, and now it’s …”
Roy, who’s lacked the explosiveness we’ve seen from him in the past, apologized for his comments two days later, but his frustration remains — and Wednesday’s four-point performance in another L at Dallas certainly didn’t improve his mindset.
But is Roy frustrated enough to leave Portland?
Depends on who you ask.
One plugged-in person with knowledge of Portland’s inner workings told me Roy spoke with Blazers management less than two weeks ago about the need for Miller and him to part ways. While Roy did not issue a trade demand or request, I’m told he said something to this effect:
This is not going to work, so you should trade one of us. Whether it’s him or whether it’s me, somebody needs to be traded because this is not going to work.
Portland general manager Rich Cho, as well as Roy’s agent, Bob Myers, denied that such a discussion ever happened.
“It’s not true,’’ Cho said on Thursday.
Not that the Blazers would admit if something like that did happen. If the team is looking at trading one of its guards, who would it be? Roy seems like the obvious choice to keep — he’s younger and simply better — but his bad knee is making it so he may not be that attractive to other teams anyway.
According to Broussard’s article, Roy wants to handle the ball more, playing more like Dwyane Wade or Kobe Bryant instead of watching Miller dominate the ball so much. He was at his best when he played that kind of style, before Miller got to Portland — two seasons ago Roy averaged a career-high 22.6 points per game, along with 5.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds.
What do you think? Should Portland look to trade Roy or Miller?
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December 17th, 2010 at 11:46 am
karizmatic says:
I mean obviously you trade Miller but that just really is a bad omen for the team…it basically means Roy puts his own status above the team. Roy isn’t a DWade or Kobe level talent (although he probably thinks he is) as such he really should have a pg like Miller who can set him up for easier scores than he could get on his own. That’s a sad situation.
December 17th, 2010 at 11:47 am
rudderband man says:
Trade them both and build around Wesley Matthews. He’s Portland’s best player.
December 17th, 2010 at 11:56 am
Zippy says:
Miller is the perfect PG to play beside Matthews(SG). They should trade Roy. He’s going to have injury problems for the rest of his career.
December 17th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Rafa23 says:
Portland is done. unless a miracle happens, Roy will never be an Allstar again. trade everybody except LMA and Matthews.
December 17th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
DarkHorse says:
Brandon Roy is a much better player than Andre Miller when healthy. But can Brandon Roy stay healthy with that knee? Andre Miller had the longest active streak of games played before he got suspended. And Dre Miller won’t be slowing down soon, because he plays below the rim. Dre Miller’s game is all about savvy, not speed and quickness. I would trade Brandon Roy, just because you know what you will be getting from Dre Miller on a consistent basis. However, it seems doubtful the Blazers can get anything in return because of Roy’s shaky health status. So sad. Just a couple of seasons ago, Portland seemed like a team that could become a potential contender. Back then, Greg Oden seemed like he could become a franchise center, Brandon Roy was still a franchise building block, and guys like Rudy Fernandez, Nic Batum, Travis Outlaw and Jerryd Bayless seemed like they would develop into all-stars.
December 17th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
James says:
it’s sad to see roy hating on his own teammate like that, especially since dre can probably beat roy in a foot race right now. roy wants the ball in his hands but what’s he gonna do with it? slow don’t lie.
December 17th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Mike "Yahoo! Exclusive" Mihalow says:
Miller has nothing to do with it. He’s slow because of his knee. Blaming his teammate like that is sad. If he thinks Miller’s hogging the ball, then why not call him more plays. You’d think he’d be more in favor with his coach.
December 17th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
JAY says:
Roy is starting to be a little bitch. Move his ass for someone who just wants to play. If that knee gets any worse he’ll be one of those untradeables.
December 17th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Rabbitman says:
trade everybody but LMA and Matthews, keep Miller for his contract so he can help them develop more, and get a young point for the future(i dont know from where) and Miller can help him develop as well for the next couple seasons.
I would like to see Miller finally play for a contender though, he would be clutch if he ever got out of the first round.
December 17th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
kbmamba says:
This is true there is no speculation. Roy did indeed tell management that either him or Miller has to go (your actually a little late on this story DIME it came out a few days ago). And you know what…BRANDON ROY NEEDS TO SHUT THE F*** UP!
Honestly, I would trade Roy over Miller at this point. His ego and self-frsutration at his own shitty play has obviously gone to his head. He is talking like he has the kind of leverage players like Kobe have over their GM’s and management. Roy was on the verge of stardom and greatness yes, but he never quite got there. He does not have the pull to start delivering ultimatums, especially against a solid veteran point guard like Andre Miller. What might suck most about this story, is that the public is now automatically going to criticize and attack Andre Miller’s game when really he is one of the most consisten PG’s in the L. You know what your going to get with him night in and night out. Not a lot of flah or highlight reel plays, but consistent good decision making, mid range jumpers, and running the offense smoothly. HOW IS ROY EVEN COMPLAINING ABOUT ANDRE BEING SLOW RIGHT NOW??? HE CAN BARELY WALK AND HE WANTS TO PUSH THE BALL AND WANTS THE BALL IN HIS HANDS MORE??? GIVE ME A BREAK! He’s delusional and obviously hasn’t come to terms with the fact that his talents are currently limited by injury…A LOT!
I know I’ll get a lot of hate for this, but look at the obvious people…Yes Brandon Roy is obviously a better player and better talent that Andre Miller. No one will despute that. When healthy he has showed that he can be an elite player next to the likes of Kobe, Lebron, D-Wade etc and carry his team on his shoulders and hit big time shots late in games.
But things are heading downhill quick for Roy. When he was up and coming and in his prime these last few years, it was because he had a multi-dimensional game. He could beat you with both his explosiveness and athleticism to get to the bucket or free throw line, and could get off his jumper just about anywhere and hit it with decent consitency. He was also a solid defender. Now, Roy is a mere shade of his former self. He can no longer defend quicker wing players, and can’t blow by people anymore to get to the bucket. He also doesn’t have the lift he once had in his jumpshot. If there’s one thing we know about nagging knee injuries or injury prone players in general (i.e. greg oden and yao ming), it’s that they have a poor prognosis for the future and often never reach their full potential.
Roy’s frsutration is probably due more to his poor quality of play this year than Andre Miller dominating the ball. He’s just handling it in an immature way by blaming Andre Miller. The Blazers problem is not their guard or forward play, they have plenty of guys from Miller, Roy, Batum, Matthews, Fernandez that can fill it up. It’s that they don’t have a true bigman to bang around in the paint and get easy buckets or block shots. Roy may just be having trouble coming to terms and facing the reality that his basketball career might not quite go down the path he expected it to due to injury.
December 17th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
oobhz says:
he should be blaming his knees not his teammate.. i thought Roy was one of the good guys in the nba..
December 17th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
DashikiMAN says:
Jay: “Roy is starting to be a little bitch”
Couldn’t agree more. Yup…that pretty much sums it up lol.
December 17th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
rainman says:
Why WOULDNT portland stick with Miller? and instead stick with a player whose headed down teh same path as T-Mac and Penny Hardaway? or at best a good 6th man on a decent team? If they can deal Brandon Roys big contract, regardless of if he had problems with miller or not, they should deal it ASAP so that they may get something in return, fooling a team that thinks he may have something to offer…
Of course brandon, ur struggles have NOTHING to do with ur knee problems which will be there for the rest of ur career, not at ALL…
December 17th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Promoman says:
Brandon Roy is a better player than Andre Miller but they’d better keep Andre unless the Blazers know that they’ll get an elite point in return.
December 17th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
rainman says:
P.S stop acting like such a lil punk.
December 17th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
KCL says:
Brandon’s a broken player as simple and as sad as it is to admit. He’s bone on bone with no meliscus is his knee, its literally a matter of time before he goes down with a season ending or potentially career threating injury a la penny or tmac. Another fact that a lot of ppl are missing is that Blazers just paid Broy max money and didn’t get any injury insurance if he’s hurt. Teams around the league know he’s broken, he’s simply not capable of making those quick change of direction cuts that made him an all-star nobody’s gonna take on that contract with his broken knee reminds me of the 76ers stuck with Elton Brand so trading him is not gonna happen. He’s still good if he’s hitting his jumpers but he’s no longer our go to player. If LA could realize his enormous potential and play like the man he should be instead of taking those pussy turn around fade away jumpers that he always does and get into the post and bang like amare (he’s more than capable) he could make a easy transition to being the go to guy in portland. Right now he’s just inconsistent as always and as old and slow as Dre is he’s the one winning the blazers ball games him, camby and matthews are the only guys with enough heart to refuse to lose. theres no quick fix to this situation and trading miller wouldn’t help us cuz we won’t get the value he gives us back. Blazers have too much talent and money invested in this roster to just “blow it up and rebuild” new players need to step up like LA, Batum and Matthews (who is stepping up right now, worth every penny spent). Blazers would have to take back a equally shitty contract to trade Broy and its not worth it esp for what he gave to this team and how we prolly wouldn’t get any talent back. I’d pull the trigger if they could get a impact player and future 1st rounders but this deal isn’t going down. Broy holds no cards in this situation and I don’t believe he made those comments about “ultimatum” so they better just grow some balls, step up and try to make it work. If we can make trades to get younger talent without taking on shittier contracts, do it, untill then just try to win some games, be competitive, and try to sneak into the playoffs for the fans who can’t catch a break, the curse goes on!
December 17th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
kbmamba says:
Some interesting comments I found from Brandon Roy during last season while researching this topic on the web:
“This team is going to go off my pulse,” Roy said. “Even if I’m smiling and trying to make it work, if I seem like I’m not totally comfortable, then Martell won’t be. And Rudy (Fernandez) will look like he’s in a funk. And L.A. (Aldridge) will look like he’s in a funk. They have been playing with me for a couple years and if I’m going well, they have more confidence.”
”I feel like we tried it (the three-guard lineup), and you could say it worked at times, but me sacrificing hurt the team, so it should get back to me playing full-out and getting some other guys in other areas to sacrifice a little bit,” Roy said.
I don’t know how accurate they are, they were reported by sportingnews.com. But it seems to me like we are all slowly discovering that B-Roy is really a snotty little punk.
P.S. anyone else like Andre Miller would whoop his ass in a fight? Cuz I do for some strange reason lol
December 17th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
egypt says:
Wow…It never amazes me the short-term memory of sport’s fans these days…
Trade Roy over Andre Miller??? Really?!
Two people, one of which hardly ever gives out praise to players stated Brandon Roy being the hardest player to guard in the nba…. ron artest and kobe bryant…
ridiculous comments…ridiculous
December 17th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Michorizo says:
Trade both of them to 2 different teams…Miller to the Kings and B-Roy to the Clips …
December 17th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Mikey F Baby says:
Miller never gets any credit for what he does. He’s solid every night, never bitches and complains, yet he’s the journeyman.
Roy has a lot of nerve calling someone else slow, while he hobbles around not cracking double digits. Let Roy go, I’m sure there is some team dumb enough to give “equal” value despite the injuries.
December 17th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Rainman says:
@ Egypt: ur forgetting those comments were made when he was HEALTHY! which he will NEVER BE AGAIN by the looks of it.
fail.
December 17th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Rainman says:
also, Kobe said his fav player to watch was Manu bak in 07, im sure Manu’s bak on the top of the list now, as Roy is not hard to guard at all with those floppy knees…
December 17th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Jay10do says:
Roy is ah lame
December 17th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
S.A.C. says:
Wow!
Some very good comments and post on this list (especially the earlier ones).
Kudos Yall!!
December 17th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
S.A.C. says:
It’s too bad the post on “Smack” aren’t this informative and well thought many times.
December 17th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
QPQ says:
After all the love and kindness Roy has been shown since he arrived in Portland, he has a lot of nerve! It’s one thing when you produce and talk all that I and me crap but when you can’t produce…SHUT YOUR TRAP! How dare he put down ANYONE IN THIS ORGANIZATION. NOT ONE PLAYER, NOR NAT OR ANDRE HAVE SAID AN UNKIND WORD ABOUT HIM!
Roy has shown himself to be nothing more than a spoiled brat after Portland fans deemed the Blazers Roy’s Team. When they brought in the consummate pro… Miller, Roy’s jealously rose to the surface. Miller has kept his mouth shut but it would be nice if Andre would whup little boy roy ass and show him that he owns nothing more than a over-blown contract and a pair of worn out knees.
Trade litte-boy Roy for a couple of skrugs… a ham sandwich and a Bud Light because that is about what he’s worth now.
December 18th, 2010 at 4:24 am
Larry says:
Both
December 19th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Stewart says:
When times are good, everything is great,but soon as hardships occur, we see the real person. For a hurt Brandon Roy to say such things is amazing. If he is hurt and has the chance to have a career ending injury, I say trade him. At the end of the day, the NBA is a business. Get something good for him, steal Kevin Martin from Houston or send him to Phoenix, that’s where people go to revitalize their careers…haha
December 21st, 2010 at 8:54 am
ab40 says:
come on this was doomed from the start. if it weren’t for the injuries this would have happende last season. Roy was getting better and better as a playmaker and in came andre miller who at first came of the bench where he was pouting and being sad than the injuries happened and he was starting and brandon roy was out. These guys both need the ball to be succesfull and that’s a fact they’re both not cutters or spot up shooters and something’s got to give. I think they should give roy a few months of till after the all star break see how he feels after all that rest if he can’t get it together you trade him together with a sign & trade for greg oden let them be somebody else their troublechild.
December 22nd, 2010 at 9:59 pm
dagwaller says:
And people thought I was crazy when I was saying that Steve Blake was a better look than Dre Miller…