Blazers looking into the option of asking Roy to retire.

The $68 million question is apparently about to get a new answer. Which is only to say that the Trail Blazers Inc. brain trust wants to float a new notion for Brandon Roy.

It's this: Retirement, old pal?

I hope they duck when they ask him.

A source familiar with the situation said Thursday that Portland figures it must deal with Roy's future if it's truly going to rejoin the league's contenders. Retirement for Roy is among the options they're considering.

The Blazers know they hold the distinction of being the only team in the Western Conference that hasn't won a first-round playoff series in the past 10 years. So they're eager and acting with urgency.

There are only three viable options when it comes to Roy's future: A) figure out where he fits and play him; B) set him free with the Amnesty Clause; or C) lure him into retirement.

They see three options.

I see only one.

Roy told me on the day of his season exit interview that he'd spend the summer healing, getting stronger and resting his knees. He wondered what coming back healthier would mean. Also, he planned to do platelet-rich plasma therapy again this summer, hoping it would help his knees.

It's worth giving the guy the offseason, and potentially a lockout, to see how his body responds. Sorry, but I can't forget the 18 points he scored in the fourth quarter of Game 4 during the Mavericks playoff series. They weren't accidental, and so blowing him up with the Amnesty Clause, or asking him to retire don't feel like wise decisions.

The league's Amnesty Clause would set Roy free, as the organization once did with Derek Anderson. The Blazers would still pay Roy what they owe him over the next four seasons, but they wouldn't pay luxury tax on his salary. It could potentially save owner Paul Allen millions, but wouldn't necessarily result in salary-cap room unless a new collective bargaining agreement stipulated such.

Retirement sounds lovely. I don't blame the Blazers for wondering about sending Roy to Boca Raton, Fla. (I'm thinking Darius Miles probably has a place there from when Portland attempted to send him there three years ago.) But it feels like a pipe dream.

If Roy voluntarily retires, he forgoes his salary and can't return to the NBA for one season. I don't see that happening. But if the three-time All-Star were forced to retire for medical reasons (a league-appointed physician would have to rule Roy is medically unfit), there's an interesting loophole. With Roy medically retired, the Blazers could potentially get salary-cap relief after a one-year waiting period.

I asked Rich Cho what they planned to do with Roy just 48 hours before the general manager was fired by Allen. He didn't answer, but he laughed nervously. I could feel him shaking his head at the mistake that the Vulcans made in negotiating a contract that had no insurance and no clauses for the possibility of injury despite Roy's chronic knee issues.

You can't reasonably predict what the Blazers will do. There's a fracture between the smart, hard-working people who run the day-to-day operations at One Center Court and the wild-eyed schemers who call the shots from the circle around Allen.

Me?

I don't for a second believe that Roy will retire. I don't think he believes he's done, nor would any physician who examined him. Again, Game 4. Period. End of discussion. But I do believe that Roy's pride is the true wildcard.

I still believe Roy can play at a high enough level to make keeping him worthwhile. I believe developing a new role for him is not only the best option, but also the only option. He'd be overpaid in each of the next four seasons, but at the very least they'd get something in return.

But I don't think the Blazers view Roy as part of the plan, and given that they're married to him, they seem intent on trying to do something dramatic. And maybe, foolish.

Roy won't want to be in Portland if he's not wanted. He could barely stomach the idea of seeing Patty Mills and Rudy Fernandez coming off the bench before him in Game 2 against Dallas. So, I'm thinking that if the Blazers really do want out they're going to have to tell Roy they don't want him around anymore.

We're probably talking buyout now, not retirement. Roy would get a lump sum and the freedom to seek a new team, if he could find another soul willing to believe in him. Since Roy has four years remaining on his contract, any buyout amount would be divided by four and that number would count against the Blazers' salary cap moving forward.

Have the Blazers turned gamblers? Are they really willing to give up on Roy while he's promising to come back even better? Could they really justify buying him out given Roy's output in Games 3 and 4 played the biggest role in saving Portland from a first-round sweep by the Mavericks?

Answer those questions. Then, tell me how insulting the guy with the idea of retirement or a buyout helps this franchise move forward. Because the worst case here is to devalue Roy, and insult him to his face, then have him show up in camp, where you ask him to help you win games.

Then again, this is Portland -- on a decade-long streak without a playoff series win.

Maybe that really is the plan.

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/or...f/2011/05/canzano_asking_blazers_brandon.html