As Dave posted below, the Portland Trail Blazers announced Thursday that guard Brandon Roy is set to have dual arthroscopic knee surgeries. This possibility was first reported by Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune on Wednesday night. The team's release notes that there is "no timetable for his return."
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Update (2:17 PM): Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reports on Twitter...
"[Blazers GM Rich] Cho said arthroscopic surgeries typically have a 3-6 week recovery period. "Hopefully he comes back this season," Cho said of Roy."
The goal of the surgery is to decrease Roy's pain, but there is no guarantee there will be any significant long-term impact. "This is really a temporary fix," Cho said of the arthroscopic surgeries. "Nothing is permanent."
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What went into this decision?
"The biggest thing is we've been working with our team doctors, we've actually been able to get a number of different opinions, and it's something that we've finally decided that we're going to try this step. I've been sitting out for a number of weeks, just trying to do whatever I can, the best thing I can to be able to get back on the floor. So we decided to do the scope on both knees, allowing our doctors to go in there and clean up some things and hopefully get me back on the court as soon as possible."
Surgery in both knees. Is the pain equal?
"Well, I wouldn't say it's equal but it's beginning to get close. You know, I think dealing with the left knee, I was able to do that before the right knee surgery. But after having that right knee scope last year I started to compensate a lot so now is a good time for me to go in there and get them both scoped. Doing it at the same time will allow me to come back sooner than maybe waiting in between. My goal again is to get as healthy as I can so I can go out there and feel productive for this team. We feel like now is a good time to go out and do this."
Did the time off alleviate the pain?
"Yeah, there's been a couple times where I felt like the rest did me some good and then I'd go out there on the court, start doing some drills, and it would be really sore, really tight again. There's days I wake up and I'm like, 'I want to play tonight.'I know how it's going to feel after I go out there and play. The biggest thing, I said in the beginning of this process, I'm going to be patient with it and I'm going to try to think long-term. The team has really backed me with that and hasn't tried to rush me. Just try to be patient with it and try to get me back as close to feeling good as possible."
Are you able to workout on the court and shoot right now?
"The biggest thing is that they've got me off the court for now. But I've spent a lot of time just on the bike, in the pool, a lot of time in the weight room. My biggest focus is not really the jump shooting but just keeping my body weight at a good weight so that when we do go in there and do the scope, I don't need to try to get my weight down. My weight is good, I haven't gained any weight since I've been out. That's the biggest thign. Once I start playing basketball again that will come to me. And another adjustment will be getting back to game speed, but all those things are fine once I feel healthy enough to go out there and play."
Has this process been difficult?
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm human. Being young, wanting to go out there and play, watching my teammate go out there and play so hard, and play so well, I want to be out there with them. The biggest thing is that my family has been great, I've spent a lot of time talking with my family, and they're trying to keep my spirits up. Just trying to continue to get through it. This is some adversity and stepping up is only going to make me better."
The Blazers announced that Roy would be sidelined indefinitely due to knee pain on Dec. 30. An emotional Roy discussed that decision here.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter