NBA Free Agency 2012: Why Brandon Roy Would Take Timberwolves Down with Him

According to Darren Wolfson of ESPN.com, the Minnesota Timberwolves are on the verge of offering free agent guard Brandon Roy a two-year contract. This seems especially odd in lieu of last season.  

The 2011-2012 Minnesota Timberwolves season can be divided into two distinct parts. 

W.R.R.—With Ricky Rubio.

W.O.R.R—Without Ricky Rubio.

The Minnesota Timberwolves waited for two years to get Ricky Rubio in uniform as an active NBA player. He was worth the wait.

Minnesota went 18-13 with Rubio as a starter last season, and 8-27 without him.

Why so many games without Ricky Rubio? 

On March 9, 2012, Rubio suffered a season ending knee injury. It ended Rubio's season—and effectively ended the Timberwolves' season as well.   

With that type of season-altering injury fresh in their memories, one would think that trying to avoid depending too heavily on an injury-prone player would be a no-brainer for the Timberwolves. 

That's why the news that the Timberwolves are interested in Brandon Roy should raise eyebrows all over the state of Minnesota.

Yes, Brandon Roy was a fantastic all star-caliber guard for the Portland Trail Blazers. In 2008-2009 Roy averaged 22.6 points, 5.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Roy also suffered from knee problems dating back to his college days at the University of Washington.

The knee issues wouldn't go away and even arthroscopic surgery on January 17, 2011, did not bring total relief. With the cartilage in his knees worn down, Roy was unable to perform near the level of play he was accustomed to.

On December 10, 2011, Roy announced his retirement due to his continual knee problems. Roy was only 27 years old.

Now, Roy wants to attempt a comeback. It's not that Roy is a bad guy but, in a league with a limited amount of roster space and a salary cap, Roy is not simply a "buy-low" type of risk.

Having Roy on the team means not having someone else on the team. It also means less minutes for a young shooting guard if they were to draft one.

What if Minnesota doesn't draft a shooting guard, based on their belief that Roy could be the answer at the position?

What if Roy gets hurt again?

There are teams for whom taking a chance on Brandon Roy makes sense. Not the Minnesota Timberwolves though.

One would think that, after watching their season go down in flames due to a knee injury last season, they'd be extra cautious.

Guess not.