Former Blazer Brandon Roy considering making a return to basketball

I frequently mention the concept of athletes having an exit strategy. Simply put, a plan for life after whatever sport you play ends. The exit plan is no easy task. Especially as most of these guys have been living with the sport in their heart since they were  6 or 7 years old. But the reality is that your athletic career will end someday and you will need a transition into the next phase of your life. It’s hard to think of those things when you’re in your prime but what happens when other factors force you into an earlier than expected retirement?

Today’s example, Brandon Roy. Roy’s career was cut short do to several injuries. Before the start of this NBA season, Roy choose medical retirement. This move allowed him to collect the remainder of his salary because of insurance. Roy recently gave an interview where he’s discussing the possibility of a return to basketball.

Former Rookie of the Year and 3-time All-Star guard Brandon Roy, who recently retired from basketball due to a serious knee condition, has been entertaining the possibility of a comeback, telling Eurobasket, ‘It’s hard being away from the game. Don’t be surprised if you see Brandon Roy make his way back to the court.’

According to sources close to the player, regardless of his knee problems, Roy’s decision to retire wasn’t all health related. ‘There’s something to it, but it’s not the right time for me to get into it right now,’ Roy said. ‘I’ve been doing some treatment and I’m trying to leave the window open to returning to basketball.’

Obviously from a financial standpoint, Roy isn’t hurting for money. The last comments, about his decision to retire not being health related, are a bit curious however. I wonder if Roy choose medical retirement to help out the Blazers. The Blazers surprisingly stated that they had no plans of using the amnesty clause offered with the new CBA on Roy. By Roy choosing medical retirement, he still got his money but I don’t believe his salary counts against the Blazers books (I’ll have to brush up on the new CBA to confirm that) could it be this was HIS way of showing loyalty to the Blazers?

Or is this just an example of a guy that can’t imagine doing anything else with his time? If he’s serious about this comeback, he needs to go see Kobe’s specialist in Germany. At least 2 other NBA players (DeShawn Stevenson and Gilbert Arenas) plus MLBer Alex Rodriguez.

Roy was fantastic in the playoffs last season so his retirement came as a bit of surprise for me. While I was skeptical about him returning to his all-star form, I definitely saw him as having something to contribute to a team.