Brandon Roy's a perfect fit for the new NBA

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Monday, June 26, 2006

Brandon Roy's a perfect fit for the new NBA

By DAN RALEY
P-I REPORTER

The Charlotte Bobcats wanted to meet Brandon Roy. They asked him to travel to Virginia and back in 40 hours for a predraft workout, and seemed pleasantly surprised when encountering him. The All-America guard arrived with no extra baggage.

On his overnight trip to the South, Roy privately noted that an inordinate amount of time was spent addressing his character, his pristine image, rather than basketball stuff. The conversation, in fact, leaned so much to the personal side that the Washington Huskies player and reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year wanted to make sure his NBA hosts, who hold the third pick in the NBA draft on Wednesday, hadn't forgotten anything.

"They said they were excited about me, because I was a good person and that I was a nice guy," Roy recounted. "I was laughing and I asked them, 'But what about my workout?' They said it was fine, that they already knew I was a good player."

While talent remains the bottom line for basketball's highest level, the league seems willing to submit to an extreme makeover when considering other avenues. It has worked hard to shift attention from the coach-defying, fan-punching players of recent seasons and promote far less complicated souls. Earning high marks in hoops citizenship matters again. Dwyane Wade, with his host of offensive moves and absence of tattoos, rather than the high-maintenance Allen Iverson, mixed-message Kobe Bryant and the young LeBron James, is the face of the NBA these days.

It is envisioned that Roy, should his basketball ability transfer from the college ranks to the pros as smoothly as everyone is projecting, will be a future poster boy. Be Like Mike? How about Never Abandon Brandon? He understands the unlimited outside opportunities surrounding his career, something an untarnished reputation can provide.

"It's unique for me," Roy said. "People follow people who are successful, like Dwyane Wade, who works so hard and he's a family guy. I'm staying humble. There will be no tattoos. I don't want things like gold chains. I've got an image I want to keep."

In recent seasons, the league has welcomed an influx of talented, four-year college players, among them Tayshaun Prince, Josh Howard and Wade, all demonstrating enough maturity to push the team concept and stay clear of trouble. They're bringing fans back to the game. They're making their teams successful.

Each of those three aforementioned players has been involved in the NBA Finals over the past two seasons, which is no coincidence. They possess a common denominator.

"What people are starting to see are guys like Brandon who have gone to school four years and exhibited solid character," said an Eastern Conference executive, who asked that his name not be used. "People are always talking about their character, and owners and general managers want to get back to that. Teams can count on these guys to be productive and show up every night. There's a correlation between character and winning."

A story making the rounds through the NBA was that Roy was ready to link up with agent Mark Bartlestein, who represents Gonzaga's Adam Morrison, but Arn Tellem got the UW player's business by giving the Roy family $200,000 loan-free to sign with him, effectively changing the player-agent landscape.

Roy insisted there was no payment up front, just a highly favorable deal involving the contractual percentage, which typically is 3 percent to the agent. Regardless, Tellem's agency saw a can't-miss player and wanted him, securing a highly personable athlete who could fill an endorsement role that isn't for everyone.

"Plenty of great players don't get marketed and a lot of all-stars don't get marketed," said Bob Myers, an agent in Tellem's group who works directly with Roy. "Tim Duncan is not that heavily marketed, because it's harder to market a big guy and he doesn't have great charisma, which is not a negative on him. People relate more to a Tracy McGrady and a Dwyane Wade.

"I think Brandon has that. He has the ability to be an all-star and be a person kids want to emulate."

Roy was shielded from agents during his senior season, deferring all inquiries to UW coach Lorenzo Romar and his former AAU coach, Lou Hobson. Once the season ended, the 6-foot-6 guard made sure everything was still handled on his terms, and that the prospective agents knew exactly whom they were dealing with and what was expected.

"Every agent, crooked or straight, had to come at me straight," Roy said. "Players were asking me during the season, 'What are you getting?' and I said, 'I'm getting nothing.' Agents that were shady knew they had to straighten up to even get a sit-down with me."

"Brandon is really smart," said Jamal Crawford, New York Knicks guard and a close friend. "He watches people, and he has a great support system. Brandon won't be just satisfied with getting to the NBA. He'll be a great player."

Indications are Roy has positioned himself to become a top-five pick. NBA people spent the week at the predraft camp in Orlando, Fla., debating whether the UW player was worthy of the No. 1 selection, and concluded he was. Chicago Bulls general manager John Paxson, with the second choice, said publicly that Roy is the draft's safest pick. Several of Paxson's front-office peers have determined that the guard from Seattle is more ready to play in the NBA than anyone else on the draft board.

Background checks will come up with nothing negative to report on Roy, 21. The closest thing to dirt is his late college start (he missed 14 games, registering a quarter late), while awaiting test score approval from the agonizingly slow process of the NCAA Clearinghouse, and a questionable double technical call in his last game, when he mildly protested an elbow to the stomach from Connecticut's Rudy Gay in the NCAA Tournament. That's pretty tame.

As teams mull Roy's NBA prospects, the lingering questions raised about him are the exact opposite of most draftees. Can he actually be a more selfish player, and exert himself to be a great pro, not merely a good one?

All teams have to do is ask. Roy has never been one to waffle about anything. It's been his lifelong calling card.

"I not only have to deal with the pressure of being drafted, but I also have to deal with the pressure of being who I am," he explained. "What makes me who I am is being honest. That's who I am. It's nothing I have to change. At the same time, I don't want to throw it into anybody's face."

Roy likely will receive a guaranteed three-year contract worth $7 million to $11 million. His unselfishness comes into play at the financial end, too. The team that hands over this treasure chest will be glad to know the money won't be frittered away.

His father, Tony, had to encourage him to go out and reward himself with the new Cadillac Escalade he always wanted. Roy bought one of those vehicles for his parents, too. His sister, Jaamela, graduated from Garfield High and wanted to attend a performing arts school in Los Angeles last year and couldn't afford it. Roy will pay for that education. He also has insisted on covering the costs of the final two years of college for his best friend, Cole Allen.

His family lives in a modest duplex on Deldridge Way Southwest. Roy has told his mother, Gina, to shop for a new house, which he intends to purchase. He also is paying for a large group of family and friends to accompany him to the draft in New York.

"I almost feel like the fairy godmother," a smiling Roy says, adding a caveat to this role. "Instead of anyone sitting around and living off me, I can put them in a position to be successful themselves. I'm a giver more than a receiver. I get an extra amount of pleasure in giving. To be able to do this for my family is more of a blessing than anything I can do for myself."

With his impending riches, Roy seemingly would have little reason to return to school and finish up his UW degree in American ethnic studies. Yet Romar and the senior have mapped out a schedule in which the basketball player can complete his college education over the next two summers, taking outstanding classes both in person and online.

"It's something I seriously want to do," Roy said. "When my kids are growing up, they'll have something to shoot for. My parents didn't go to college. It's something my family will be extremely proud of."

It that all sounds too good to be true for interested NBA suitors, consider Roy's jersey preference. He wants to wear No. 3 as a pro, for purely selfish, and unselfish, reasons. It was his older brother Ed's number when they played together at Garfield High School. Ed Roy, who had basketball and football scholarship offers but faced his own obstacles becoming eligible for college, went to work and moved on with his life.

"When he stopped playing basketball, I was disappointed," Brandon Roy said. "I told him was going to wear No. 3 for him at the U Dub, and said, 'When I go to the NBA, I'll wear it there for you, too,' and he's happy."

That's the same number Dwyane Wade wears. That also could be his draft position, should the Charlotte Bobcats retain their earlier enthusiasm from Roy's workout and decide they want this model basketball citizen, providing he's still available at No. 3.

P-I reporter Dan Raley can be reached at 206-448-8008 or danraley@seattlepi.com.