NBA Rumors: Brandon Roy Staying in Portland, Will Blazers Bring Back Greg Oden?

Like all NBA teams, the Portland Trail Blazers have some big decisions to make before the season begins later this month. They're keeping injury-prone guard Brandon Roy, and now they must decide if re-signing Greg Oden, whose whole career has been hindered by injuries, is worth it.

Since both are too risky to keep, Portland has to decide which one to keep. Oden is worth the gamble, as the reward outweighs the risk. The Trail Blazers should bring back the former top overall draft pick. However, whether or not they actually do is an entirely different story.

There is a lot of time before the season starts, and Portland's decision may be based off which other teams show interest in the big man. 

According to Jason Quick of The Oregonian, the Trail Blazers will not use the amnesty clause on Roy, that is, unless he gets injured again before the season starts. 

Still, it's an interesting decision to not get rid of a guy who has never played a full season in his five-year career because of heel, ankle, knee and hamstring injuries. 

Now that Roy is staying, it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to bring back Oden. However, the team did propose an $8.9 million qualifying offer during the summer, meaning it can match what other teams offer if it so chooses.

The market for Oden won't be extremely high because he is such a big risk.   

The 7'0" center has been a staple on the bench the last two years, rehabbing instead helping out the team. Of course, if he and Roy stay healthy, the Trail Blazers would be sleepers in the Western Conference this year.

Given the fact his season will be much shorter, the chances of both of them not getting injured are much better.

However, with the new collective bargaining agreement, it will be financially difficult to keep both players. Portland will have to sacrifice in other areas to keep Roy and Oden.  

Quick reported earlier in the week that not only Portland, but any other team interested in the center will get a much-needed update on his health on Thursday when Oden will get checked out by doctors in Colorado. Coming off microfracture surgery, it's not believed that Oden will be able to practice with the team right away. 

If the news is good, more teams will pursue Oden, and maybe that's what Portland's plan has been all along. Still, banking on Oden to be healthy enough for other teams to want him is a huge risk.

The move to hang on to Roy was quite the surprise, which puts so many question marks around Oden. As the week goes on, we'll know more about the situation.

It looked as though Portland wanted to keep him, but not getting rid of Roy has thrown everyone for a loop, meaning the Trail Blazers are definitely a team to watch in the coming weeks.