So far, one of the most surprising moves of the off season for the Minnesota Timberwolves when it comes to free agency has been their reported signing of retired Portland Trailblazers favorite Brandon Roy. Despite a long history of knee injuries and a recommendation from a team orthopedist that he never play again, he has decided to make a comeback in the game and it's the Wolves that he'll be joining.
According to Roy's agent Greg Lawrence, he has been working hard to make sure that he makes an impact in his first season back after a couple of procedures to get his knee ready for playing:
"He just wants a chance to earn what he can," Lawrence said. "If he is playing at a starter level, he wants to start. If he is playing at a sixth-man level, he will come off the bench. But Brandon is not going to come back and be the 13th man on the roster. He wouldn't do all this hard work to come back unless he felt he was going to make an impact."
There's also particular intrigue involved in watching when the Wolves head out to play Roy's former team, the Portland Trailblazers. The Wolves are in the same division, so the teams are guaranteed to meet several times:
"We talked about that, that there will be a lot of games in the Rose Garden," Greg Lawrence, Roy's agent, said. "And he said, 'That's going to be weird.' So I'm sure that will be a big night the first time it happens."
Adding in Roy, if he can stay healthy, is a big coup for the young and talent filled Wolves team. For a small contract considering how hard the supremely talented Roy has been working to get back into shape to play in the NBA once more, it might be the piece that takes the Wolves over the top from playoff bubble to playoff contender.
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