Subscribe Feed (RSS)Click here and then go listen to the podcast of Brandon Roy being interviewed by Dave “Softy” Mahler today on KJR in Seattle. Roy said he felt there was only a “50-50″ chance of getting his contract extension done this summer and that he hasn’t had anything to do with helping Portland chase free agents — because there is a “conflict of interest” involving whether he’d be here. Roy sent a text to Brian Wheeler today at 95.5 The Game and Wheeler said Roy expressed frustration and disppointment in not having the deal done already.
Sounds a lot like just another negotiating position by his agent, but I’d also say it doesn’t sound as much like a slam-dunk as what Kevin Pritchard made it out to be yesterday. You don’t want to push negotiations too far here, or you take the chance of losing this guy in another year.
It kind of causes me to scratch my head, too. Are we having communications problems somehow? I don’t understand all this stuff about Jerryd Bayless working out with Greg Oden this summer, either. Multiple sources within the team have said he did, but he denied it twice yesterday.
What’s going on over there in the Rose Quarter?
Tags: Brandon Roy, Brian Wheeker, Dave "Softy" Mahler, Dwight Jaynes, Kevin Pritchard, KJR Radio
Sounds like Paul Allen is being his own worst enemy again.
I guess the Blazers managment is trying to make Oden look like he is working hard to get the fans off his back. I mean what else could it be? One thing though… if you are going to make up stories you should have a meeting and let everyone know what the deal is. Seems like we should be targeting another big (Lee or Millsap) now because Oden seems sketchier every day. It is too bad Bayless didn’t work out with Oden because it would be nice to see some of his work ethic run off on the guy. Maybe Nate should go high school style and only play the guys that show up ready to play.
They wont sign him to a multi-year deal until the free agency has worked out. So they are just using that dead space to negotiate back and forth. I doubt there is much to worry about here. Seems unlike BRoy to come out and complain after only 3 days though. Odd.
Seems to be, the truth is starting to leak out about Oden…. Gotta give his agent props for selling that draft bust….
If the blazers mess this up, hello seattle! Can you get any dumber??
I really hope KP isn’t weighing whether or not he wants Fernandez as the franchise SG instead of Roy now. KP is in love with Rudy, we all know that. I’d be really disappointed if the Blazers don’t show the loyalty they pride themselves on here. Does Rudy make Roy expendable? I think 99% of us would say absolutely not. I don’t want to give in to the mob mentality of us Blazer faithful, but it’s really unnerving to hear this stuff. I hope it’s just all “gamesmanship” to get the negotiations done, but what a way to do it.
This is pathetic. We’ve overpaid pot heads, wife beaters, dog fighters, strip club bereavement frequenters, but now that a good guy like Brandon is coming up for an extension we balk and stammer at making him a max year max money contract. This is embarassing as a fan. To disrespect Roy this way just shows this franchise doesn’t really care about a title. Imagine what LaMarcus’ and Greg’s contract discussions will go when they get to those. Just sad and pathetic Blazers.
at the risk of inviting more trolls into the fold here, I would suggest that fans show their concern by sending feedback to the Blazers through their website.
sod/dude give it a rest….
sorry, fresh out of troll food…check again next week little buddy
Brandon wants to be here. He has earned the max. He is the face of the franchise, and deservedly so.
no idea what is going on with the Bayless and Oden working out together, it was Bobby Medina on the “Wheels at work” show that said they were together in Ohio working out. I hate being lied to.
This is getting really strange. Feels like shads of the Patterson/Nash era. Let’s hope this blows over because its starting to be worrisome.
Here’s my take on what’s motivating the Blazers in these negotiations, and it’s not money, it’s cap space. Not now, but 5 years from now when this extension would expire. At that point, the Blazers, I’m certain, have projected out what their payroll would be and who will most likely be free agents. I don’t think they don’t want to pay him – in fact, I think they’d pay him what he’d make in 5 years if they could do it in 4. They could resign him to another extension at that point after they’ve made their play for a free agent. The obvious problem here is, of course, in convincing a player, especially one that’s contributed as much as Roy, to go along with this. I don’t think you will. It’s important to try and manage all these contracts for their future implications and future flexibility, but I think its more important to take care of Roy in the short term and worry about that stuff later.
Hearing Brandon talk like that is going to be upsetting to a lot of fans. Personally, it was disturbing to hear. You are taking something to a new level — raising some flame — where you imagined it would never go at this point.
My guess on Bayless: He is under an “Oden gag order” of some kind, since they surely want to control the message on him (think a less extreme Bill Belichick); and he may have misinterpreted that to mean he had to deny associating with him. Is this suggestion a bit out of left field? Sure. But no moreso than whatever the truth could turn out to be. It is the only rational explanation I can think of where no one is just flat out lying through their teeth.
Given recent events, this all puts some pressure on Pritchard and Allen to communicate and clarify things. As Dwight noted, it is at the very least a significant communication problem.
Generally, I’ll put my trust in Pritchard to handle these deals appropriately. But if it’s true that this whole thing hinges on the number of years, the Blazers need to cave.
Just last week the organization was begging 30 year old Hedo to take a 5 year deal to lure him to little old Portland. Now they’re balking at giving 24 year old Roy a 5 year deal? It’s baffling to me.
The fact that Roy will be a RFA next year is not enough leverage to play hardball with Roy and his agent. Time to switch into lure mode, Pritch.
I read “Breaks of the Game” by David Halberstam a short while ago. For those of you who haven’t read it, the book is about the Blazers during the 1979-1980 season. Portions of the book describe the protracted and hard-fought salary negotiations between then owner Larry Weinberg and Blazers who were members of the 1977 championship team (e.g. Bobby Gross, Lionel Hollins). Fast forward to 2009: after helping the team win 54 games, Blazer management is playing hard-ball with Brandon Roy. Go figure.
Anyway, I saw “Transformers 2″ today. And yes, it’s what you would expect – a lot of noise, confusing plot twists, and a somewhat unsatisfactory ending. Sort of like the Blazer off-season so far. But at least the movie starred a pretty girl, which got me thinking….
Perhaps every once in a while the Blazers should trot out Rebecca Haarlow and have her declare something really cryptic like “Look East and you shall find your winning raindrop.”
Look, I’m not saying these Delphic pronouncements would be any more informative than the usual Blazer press conferences, but at least we would be spared the usual KP cliches and boilerplate as to why the Blazers have failed to do anything significant this off-season.
Dwight if the blazers screw the fans from not being able to watch B. Roy play in a blazers uniform i will find another team to route for plan and simple…get this Man his money
Everybody stay cool. There’s no way Roy is not going to be a Blazer. I didn’t listen to his words but reading the transcript makes me think Roy was saying the negotiations are at 50-50, meaning they’re half way there, not that there’s only a 50-50 chance of his signing. Also, he’s frustrated because he just wants the deal behind him so he can get to work. Easy does it fans.
I wonder if Rat is right, or there is something else equally strange, about why Bayless is denying working with Oden. Bill Bayno said on Courtside the other night, which can be heard on the TB site, that they worked together and it sounded like he was there.
Bayno also said that Oden is looking more like he did in college–athletic. I know, we’ll have to wait and see.
We’re also going to have to wait and see where the TBers are after the dust settles before we can pronounce KP a bust.
I think the good people up at Vulcan need to pull the head out of their arses. Brandon Roy has been asked and has done EVERYTHING for this franchise. This hardball crap is disrespectful to a player who has given all us fans hope. We got some good hearted civic minded kids playing for us, and now you want to screw with them? Vulcan is also beginning to make a guy like Pritchard look bad. We are so lucky to have these guys. Ask Sacremento if you don’t believe me.
Let me put it to you Mr. ALLEN. PAY ROY WHAT HE WANTS, WHEN HE WANTS IT, AND FOR HOW LONG HE WANTS IT! DO IT NOW!!!
If your gonna screw with Roy, why bother being a season ticket holder? Why bother being interested in your product when you treat your best employee like crap? Why put the best GM in the NBA in a hotseat with his hands tied?
Get it together Paul, your suddenly screwing up what was once a sure thing
This is exactly what’s going on. We are all trapped in the “Bizarro World” Seinfeld episode. You remember… it’s the one where Elaine meets three new friends that are the exact opposite of Jerry, George and Kramer. In our version, instead of KP “Pritch slapping” other GM’s he’s turned into “Bizarro” KP and is now “Pritch slapping” his own players. It’s the only thing that makes sense. I just hope it all gets back to normal at the end, just like the Seinfeld episode. Unfortunately, this one isn’t very funny.
Kevin Pritchard will not be able to walk the streets in PDX if he does not work it out with Brandon. KP will be the most disliked person in PDX……..Give Brandon what he deserves and that much more………..it is not a rocket science………..I am like many others……..where ROY goes there goes my support……..and for ODEN ………….someone pleeeeeeeeeease tell him that he is not that good………..and Bayless……….needs to quit pouting on the sidelines………..Oden is down right embarassing to admit he is a Portland Blazer……….he is horrible………..
Impressive vitriol! Kudos, everyone!
KP better get on this and get on it now. When you have one of the best players in the league, and he wants to stay for at least 5 more years, you say “ok, here’s a bazillion dollars. And would you like a foot rub?”
Bayless said he hardly took a break after the season before diving into off-season workouts.
“Jerryd has always been a hard worker,” Portland coach Nate McMillan said. “He has been in Columbus (Ohio) working out with Greg (Oden), and he has also worked out hard in Phoenix and Portland. He has been waiting for this opportunity. Now it’s here for him.”
Label me a troll if you will, but the bottom line is (and always has been) that NBA games are theater. Sure, they’re a lot more exciting than opera, but the “players” are paid performers who lure the public so that advertisers get customers. No one who owns an NBA team is doing it to create endowments for orphanages, and the fact that the Blazer organization is playing a little hardball with “The Natural” should not surprise anyone. Hard times are really upon a significant portion of the population, including the oligarchs who control professional basketball, so fasten your seat belts, hero-worshippers; this is gonna be a scary ride.
Geez, this fan base is like a woman scorned. Get over the past, you are with new management now. Take a deep breath folks and CALM DOWN. We are now exactly THREE DAYS into the signing period. Do you think everyone might be jumping the gun just a little?
It’s going to be OK. The summer is very, very long. There is a lot of time to get these deals done. I’m sure KP has had to put a ton of time into trying to get Hedo, and into potential trades. Now he has been putting together a “toxic offer” for Paul Millsap. All of these things take time. Now, there will be a 7 day period where KP simply has to wait on Utah to decide wether to match his offer.
What do you think KP might do with his time over those 7 days? Do you think maybe he will focus his time on his own players? Is it even possible? Hmmmm…
Sorry guys but you should have been listening to me over the past several months regarding KP. He is not nearly as smart as he thinks he is and the house of cards is finally starting to crumble. It’s really too bad that the Blazers will ultimately pay the price for having the clown running the ship.
In a very short period of time, you will all look back and realize how prophetic Franklin really was.
Franklin get f***ing real. This is basketball, not Dungeons and Dragons. Your prophecies are your mental masturbation, and our waste of of 2 minutes.
Settle down f5, just go back and look at my past posts. I’ve nailed it on KP and that cannot be denied.
Franklin you haven’t nailed anything. You’ve argued a whole hell of a lot on Dwight’s site and insisted you’re right, but that’s about it. I would wager that you were nearly booted when Dwight booted the other fanatic over the Oden flame issue a while back. Please refer to Baby Heuy for a dose of balanced perspective.
Franklin,
You’ve just repeated yourself over and over. Your earlier posts being identical to your later posts doesn’t mean you’ve “nailed” anything.
In fact, my guess is that you haven’t.
Is Oden really working out, or taking Basket Weaving 101 and eating pizza?
Someone lying about Oden’s workouts has nothing to do with what he is actually doing. (he, most likely, is working out hard) Why hate on him? He is apparently not the one who lied here.
On the other hand, Roy’s comments reflect directly on him. Three days, really?
Things are not always what they seem. Do you realize that Kobe Bryant is a representative of the United States of America?
I’m sure KP is just taking orders in regards to Brandon Roy’s contract negotiations. No sense in laying this all on him. Maybe Paul Allen is tired of losing money. It does seem a bit odd to be thrifty in this case, however, after making idiots like Darius Miles and Zach Randolph Multi-Millionaires. Or it could be just a simple tactic designed to lay the groundwork for saving money when LMA and Greg Oden start negotiations.
Either way, I’ve seen dozens of these types of negotiations, the two sides start out like they will never come to an agreement, and then suddenly, they kiss and make up, sign a new contract and everything is hunky dory.
f5/peregrinebrm,
Go back and do some research in the archives here and you’ll find that I truly did nail it on KP. Sorry but facts are facts ladies.
KP is an amateur and those that worship him are nothing more than idiots.
My understanding is that Roy wants the team to move to Seattle after the 2nd year of his new contract. Paul Allen would like to move the team in 3.
Greg Oden cant play defense for 40 minutes without being in foul trouble he is lazy if can play most of the game the blazers will be a serious contender about brandon roy nothing new about the blazers that is why only one championship in more than 30 years