One More Reason To Love Brandon Roy

I had heard some variances of this anecdote before but hadn't seen it in print.  With the Zach Randolph trade rumors going right now, this seems pertinent today.

From Geoff Calkins' column in the Memphis Commercial Appeal:

Two years ago, late in Brandon Roy’s rookie year, the Portland Trail Blazers lost yet another game. Zach Randolph went on a rant in the locker room afterward, calling out teammates, pointing fingers, telling other players they weren’t pulling their weight.

Roy told Randolph to sit down and shut up. The next day, he went to see Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard and told him to get rid of Randolph.

"We can’t win with this guy," said Roy, in so many words.

Pritchard dealt Randolph to Isiah Thomas’s New York Knicks that offseason. Now the Knicks are trying to find a sucker to help them rectify Thomas’s mistake.

There is a reason this guy was a captain of his squad by year two.

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It takes a lot to be willing to call out a guy in your own locker room, no matter how much of a dope he is.  That's especially true when the guy is a considerably more tenured NBA player than oneself and has a history of physical flare-ups wth regard to his teammates. 

The reaction of the mild-mannered Roy in that situation back in 2007 tells the story both about the youngster and the veteran.  The neophyte is not only a solid basketball player but the sort of guy who can lead his team both by example on the floor and with his words in the locker room.

The veteran still doesn't get it.