Roy Officially Signs With Blazers, Talks Championship, Addition Of Miller

Brandon Roy officially signs a five-year extension with the Portland Trail Blazers. GM Kevin Pritchard called this day "one of the most exciting and important days in Trail Blazers history."

Earlier this offseason, Brandon Roy was asked about the probability of signing an extension with the Portland Trail Blazers. His answer: “I think it’s about 50/50 right now [that a deal gets done].”I, as well as the rest of the Blazers fan base, was taken aback.

Discussions were so rocky with such a differing of opinion that the percentage was as low as a flip of a coin. This was unacceptable and, frankly, hard to believe. Portland’s front office  had to put aside their differences with Roy, meet his demands, and sign him. They had no other choice.

Well, Roy, after reaching an agreement on Wednesday, he officially signed the 5-year, $80 million contract and held a press conference to discuss the extension, the negotiating process, the possibility of winning a championship with the Blazers, as well as the addition of point guard Andre Miller.

On the extension and future goals:

“I just think about all the hard work that I’ve put into this dream. A lot of people think it just happened last season. But this has been a lifelong journey for me. And for me to continue to try and improve each day and each game and (that) it leads to this is great. But again, I always go back to…there’s still something missing… it’s that championship. It’s holding that trophy at the end of the season, knowing that we were the best team. My goal when I came to this organization was to help win a championship. And not just one. But we have to start with one. So I’m excited.”

Did committing to the franchise for five years concern you?

“No it never did. Honestly from my first year being a part of this organization, I knew this is where I wanted to be for a long time. When I was going through the negotiation process, I lot of people thought, ‘Are you sure you want to be locked in that long.’ And I said, ‘Yeah. Portland is where I want to be.’ I don’t know about some of the other superstars; they have ideas about other places. But I couldn’t imagine being anywhere but here in Portland. Our fans are unbelievable. The people who are part of the organization are great. We have a great owner who cares a lot about his team, so it was never a question that I wanted to be anywhere else. So five years was perfect. If I could have done 10, I would have done that.” (Why didn’t General Manager Kevin Pritchard sign him for ten, then?)

On why he was frustrated at the beginning of the negotiating process:

“Just because once the season ended, everybody was telling me your contract is going to be done in July and I think I even got my hopes up a little bit. But when early July came and negotiations began, I think I let my pride get in the way of just letting the process take its course. Both sides have to feel comfortable about the deal and I think we eventually got to that point. It’s hard to go back and say what exactly happened. I’m just happy the end result is I’m a Trail Blazer for a long time and I’m happy with it and I think the organization is.”

Thoughts on keeping young core together, starting with signing LaMarcus Aldridge to a similar extension:

“I think it’s extremely important. Me and LaMarcus came into this league together. It’s funny, we have the same agent, so we started workout out (together) right after college. So we’ve really built a relationship on and off the court that I think has been really important to our early success. I’m excited that I’m finally done, but now it’s time to get LaMarcus signed because I think he’s a huge part of what we’re trying to do. I think he’s a future All-Star for years to come. I think LaMarcus is a big part of my success. On the court because there are a lot of things he does to free my game. He gets me a lot of assists with that jump shot he has. I’m excited about getting LaMarcus done and getting him happy and that way we can continue to move forward with all the guys we have. He’s, again, a big part of our team.”

Thoughts on signing of Miller:

“I’m excited about it. I think Andre Miller was a great pickup…I just love his leadership capabilities and I think when you add a guy of his age and his number of years in the league, that’s what we were missing on this team.I think he is going to get LaMarcus a lot more easier shots. He pushes the ball. But more than anything, I think he’s also going to help Steve Blake. They’re going to push each other every day in practice and now we have Steve or Andre always on the floor. I think this is going to make us a much better team. I’m excited about this season. I thought we did a great job in the offseason. Things don’t always happen as fast as people would like. But you look at things now, I think they are coming around and everyone is excited about this season.”

Pritchard referred to Roy as “the pillar of the franchise.” He was spot on. Roy is the Blazers backbone. So, given his dedication to the team, I can’t help but feel excited not only for the upcoming season, but for the five years that will follow–the five that Roy just signed on for.