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REPORTS: BLAZERS GUARD BRANDON ROY TO ANNOUNCE MEDICAL RETIREMENT

By Ben Golliver
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Here's audio of a radio hit with Chad Doing of 750 The Game at the top of the 9 a.m. hour regarding these reports.

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Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports that Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy may announce his medical retirement on Friday, the day that NBA training camp was set to open.

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Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy is planning to announce his retirement due to degenerative knees, perhaps as soon as Friday, sources with knowledge of Roy's decision have told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard and ESPN.com's Chad Ford.

Sources say Roy has privately conceded his ongoing knee trouble would have inevitably led to a reduced role, and given his close connection with the Portland community the former All-Star does not want to end up being released through the forthcoming amnesty clause and thus eligible to be picked up by another team.

Roy's retirement would eventually give the Blazers salary-cap relief. League rules call for a waiting period of one year from the date of the player's injury or illness. Since Roy played all the way into the playoffs last season, that date will likely be April 28, 2012 -- one year from the day the Blazers were eliminated from the playoffs.

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Update: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports confirms the report...

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Portland's Brandon Roy has been diagnosed with a "career-ending (knee) injury," league source confirms to Y! Sports. "He's done."

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Update: Joe Freeman of The Oregonian confirms the report...

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A source with knowledge of the situation confirms Chris Broussard and Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Brandon Roy will retire from Blazers. The source said Roy met w/ doctors Thurs and, after an evaluation of his knees, was told: "You can't do this. You might end up not walking." The source said Roy is very "emotional" and was not sure whether Roy would address media today during first day of camp. Sounds unlikely.

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Update: Jay Allen of 750 AM The Game reports...

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I'm convinced the Blazers were as surprised as the rest of us about about Brandon Roy retirement report. Roy and other Blazer players had physicals yesterday, then had team dinner. Roy apparently gave no indication about retirement plans.

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Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.com had a similar report on Dec. 1. He wrote on Twitter on Friday...

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Brandon Roy contacted union official two weeks ago to ask retirement-related questions. He'll likely announce his decision in next few days. Under league provisions, Roy will get paid the term of his contract and his salary will come off Blazers cap after one full season away.

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The Blazers have not immediately responded to a request for comment on Friday morning. Training camp is scheduled to begin at noon with a media access period at 2:30 p.m. Free agency will begin at 11 a.m.

Roy, 27, is a 3-time NBA All-Star and was the 2007 Rookie of the Year. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on both of his knees during the 2010-2011 regular season.

For those asking, Roy scores a 22 out of 25 on my Jersey Retirement Formula and therefore is a no-brainer candidate to be honored by the team. The only question is when.

Blazers president Larry Miller, Acting GM Chad Buchanan and coach Nate McMillan held a press conference on Monday to say that they had met with Roy face-to-face and that he was excited for the season to begin. McMillan said he was "leaning towards" starting Roy at the two guard spot and Buchanan said the team's free agency plan was crafted with the understanding that Roy would be on the roster through training camp.

"Brandon is in a great spot," Buchanan said. "I think he feels good. Excited about the season."

"Right now our plan is that Brandon is going to be a part of this team when we start training camp and hopefully when we start the season," Miller added. "His level of excitement about coming into the season, his level of commitment wanting to help make this team better all came through in the meeting we had with him. Now, when training camp starts, we'll see Brandon out on the court and we'll take it from there."

"He feels good, he feels better," McMillan said. "I mean, Brandon is an All-Star... He feels much better now and [starting him at the two] is something I'm going to take a look at."

On Wednesday, Blazers guard Wesley Matthews said he had expected all along that Roy would return.

"I just can't envision the Portland Trail Blazers without Brandon Roy," Matthews said. "I can't even fathom that."

This post will update throughout the day. Click through for some reactions around the league.

Thanks to pklym in the FanShots for getting their first. Thanks also to kajuayn in the FanPosts.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
Reactions from around the league...

Fellow Seattle product and former Blazers forward Martell Webster writes on Twitter...

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B Roy the league just lost a legend. I Was looking forward to watching for another 10 years. You will be missed, I'm calling a comeback 2014

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Miami Heat All-Star forward LeBron James writes on Twitter...

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Please say it ain't so. Brandon Roy retiring. Losing one of the best 2 guards in the league before he's ready to go. So unfortunate man! SMH

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Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star forward Kevin Durant writes on Twitter...

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Praying for Brandon Roy!

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