Thanks to BBG for posting a link in the FanShots to a radio appearance by Brandon Roy with Softy on Seattle's KJR 950 AM this past Wednesday.
Roy sounds motivated, happy and healthy. It's really a breath of fresh air. He discusses his summer vacation, his workout routine, his plans for next season, what he knows and doesn't know about the assistant coach shuffle, his thoughts on the Phoenix Suns series and his college teammate Nate Robinson's performance in the NBA Finals.
Roy also notes that he is not super keen on following coverage of the Blazers. " I'm not big on reading the Yahoo! Sports," Roy said. "And not just Yahoo! Even The Oregonian. I don't really get too caught up in reading those things." He is also asked about the flap over his disappearances during the National Anthem. Roy said that the situation was "a little blown out of proportion" and he seemed to indicate that he doesn't feel that he was treated fairly. "I felt it was something that could have been brought to me maybe privately and it could have been resolved a lot easier than maybe writing it up about me like that."
Click through for the full transcript.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
Questions are bolded and paraphrased. Roy's answers appear in block quotes and are word-for-word.
How are you?
I've been great. Coming back from the whole knee injury in the playoffs, I've been spending a lot of time in the gym, a lot of time in the weight room just strengthening my body. I dropped about five pounds since the season. I'm going to try to play at a lesser weight next year. I've just been really relaxing and trying to take care of my body and spending as much time with my family. I had a chance to go down to SeaWorld when the season was over. It was my first time ever going and we just had a blast. I'm just trying to catch up wtih my family and give them their time right now.
How was SeaWorld with your young kids?
It was tough. I didn't know if that was a vacation or work. We were going around SeaWorld, the zoo, I think I lost weight just being down there for the weekend. It was fun. I took a lot of pictures. I'm sure we'll go back once the kids get a little older. I had a blast but it was work. I was carrying around two kids under three, it was a lot of hard work.
People thought you would shut it down. You tried to pull a Willis Reed. Was that the right move?
We did shut it down and we cleaned it up. What I told the trainers was that I was going to be totally honest with them about how I feel. And you know, Softy, three or four days after that surgery I felt like I could start working to play basketball again. If it had hurted, I wouldn't have jeapardized not only my future but this team's future. I definitely took all of that into consideration. But when I went out there to play, I wasn't in any pain. I wasn't able to lift and be as explosive as I would have liked, but I wasn't in any pain. I just couldn't sit on the couch and watch my team play.My thing was, 'hey guys, I can play.' Looking back at it now, I'm actually happy that I did because I don't have any questions about where is my knee. I went out there and played against probably the fastest team in the NBA. That was tough. But now I go in the gym and I play totally free and back to normal. I'm happy that I've got that game experience so now I don't question myself as I move on through the summer.
If you were healthy would you have beaten the Suns?
You know, it's hard to say. I felt like if I was totally healthy I think I would have given my team an even chance of winning that series. Phoenix was playing wel. Going back and watching film, there was a number of things that Phoenix prepared for, even if I was going to be healthy. They were going to force other guys to shoot the ball, force other players to win the game. I always just go back and say, 'man, if I was healthy, could we have won?' I don't know.
I don't want to take that from Phoenix. They played well. They beat us and then kicked a San Antonio team that was playing really great down the stretch and they swept those guys. And then they gave the Lakers a run for their money with that game 5 in LA. I just can't say that we would have beat them but I really would have liked to see if we could have if I was healthy.
Thoughts on Nate Robinson in the NBA Finals?
For me it's been exciting because it's one of those things where I've never cheered for Boston before and now that I'm in the Western Conference it's hard for me to root for the Lakers. So I find myself rooting for certain guys. Nate has always been a good friend of mine and to watch him be able to come in and play in the NBA Finals, I'm just happy for him. Me and Nate were kids and we dreamed of these moments and I'm sitting here like, 'he scored in the NBA Finals!' He was the piece for helping them win in the NBA Finals. And it's just, I'm just in awe of it and so excited to see him have an opportunity to play at that level because he has been through a lot this season. And I hope that he has learned a lot through this season and understands that he can really help a team win games. And he's a special player. I just really hope he has learned a lot from it and I'm just happy for him. And I hope he goes out there and leaves it all on the floor for Game 7. I'm excited.
Does he need to control his emotions?
That's a thing I always go back and forth with when people ask me about Nate. I think he does not need to control the energy. I think he needs to let that go. I think there are times when he needs to control his emotions, sometimes that means, I remember when I was younger, we would score and we would go down court and we would showboat and my dad after the game would always say, 'act like you've been there before.' At first I didn't understand it but as I got older I realized, 'yeah, you're right.' There's a time for the emotions but I think there's a time when you sometimes have to control them. But the energy for Nate Robinson, I think he never needs to control that. I think he needs to go out there and play as hard as he can for a team. The emotions I think sometimes is maybe what rubs people the wrong way. He's an incredible player. I think if he can control that, that doesn't mean take it away, but control it, I think he is going to be even more special.
I loved him getting in Lamar Odom's face.
I loved that too. I thought that was great. I didn't feel it deserved a technical. A guy took a hard foul and this is championship basketball, it's a little different than playoff basketball. And he got back in his face and let him know I'm not going anywhere. That's what championship basketball is. I was happy to see him do it. That's Nate Robinson, that's the emotion that's ok to show.
I hear you guys have an all new staff?
No, I don't know if we have an all new one. I've heard rumors that we may be exploring, our Coach Nate is exploring some new, or one new assistant coach. But I've been at the facility and Coach Dean has been there and Coach Prunty has been there and Bayno is on the road and I haven't seen anybody new yet. So I don't know. I know that has been reported that Coach Nate is looking to hire an assistant coach but I've been in there working just about every day with the coaches we have the past couple of years.
There's a story that says you'll have an all new staff and Bernie Bickerstaff is coming over.
Yeah, I heard Bernie Bickerstaff was somebody that Coach Nate was going to look at and talk to and go through the process but I have not heard he was hired. But, you know, I don't hear everything. I'm not big on reading the Yahoo! Sports. And not just Yahoo! Even The Oregonian. I don't really get too caught up in reading those things. If Coach Nate comes to me or Bernie Bickerstaff shows up tomorrow when I'm at the gym, then 'hey, I'm Brandon Roy and I'm playing for you.' It's hard for me to read all those things. Last I've checked I don't think anybody has been hired.
So they don't run these decisions by you like they do LeBron James?
No, no, not quite. We talk. We definitely talk but they never say, it's never, I'm never the guy that signs off on anything. That's Mr. Allen and Kevin Pritchard and Coach Nate's job. They definitely share thoughts with me and ask me for input but walking out, I never walk out and say, 'hey, I just picked the new head assistant coach.' I kind of just like to give my opinion and look forward to whatever they do. Everybody wants to win and everybody wants to do the best thing for this team. Sometimes it's just my job to give my honest opinion. Sometimes they have to either take it or feel they think there's a different way to go.
Looking back, what do you think the flap about you not being on the court during the National Anthem?
For me it was a weird situation because I would never be the one to disrespect our country or our soldiers. It was something that I had came up with a trend because I would always have to use the bathroom right before the game. And I start so I know there would be a stretch where I couldn't do it. So I would use the bathroom and come out right before the anthem. And I would stand right in the tunnel where nobody can see me but I can see everything that's going on. I would use that time as a moment to reflect on a lot of things, I would always say my prayers. I would have one hand on my chest like everybody else.
It was something that was a little blown out of proportion but now I'm out there on the court and I never want to rub anybody the wrong way. I felt it was something that could have been brought to me maybe privately and it could have been resolved a lot easier than maybe writing it up about me like that. You know, it's fine, it's something you have to go through. I'm out there now, it's somewhat of a dead issue to me. I would never disrespect this country. My dad served in the Marines, there's thing about me that I don't talk about but I care a lot about what's going on. I thought it could have been handled a lot better. It's no big deal. I'm out there now and I've moved on from it.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter