Despite legitimate concerns about his knees and questionable durability over the course of a season, the Minnesota Timberwolves still look to have found a vital asset in former All-Star guard Brandon Roy.
And although it initially appeared to be a considerable risk-reward situation for the T-Wolves to toss out a two-year deal to a man who just retired from the sport because of injuries, 1500ESPN.com's Darren Wolfson is reporting that the second year of the contract is not guaranteed, which is quite significant:
A source with knowledge of the contract said it's a two-year deal for $10.4 million, but the second year is non-guaranteed.
In other words, if Roy's knees, which contain no cartilage, force him to retire again, the Wolves won't owe him any money beyond the $5.2 million in the first year.
Paying $5.2 million to see what Roy has in the tank is considerably different than paying $10.4 million to see the exact same thing. While it's hard to imagine that the T-Wolves could have agreed to a deal that didn't include some sort of opt-out clause or exit plan after one year, it's still good to see that Roy's attempted "comeback" won't cost the organization in future years if he abruptly retires again.
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