Nate McMillan Puts Brandon Roy In His Place, Roy Apologizes

Posted by Marv on Apr 21st, 2011 and filed under Home
Right after the Blazers Game 2 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Brandon Roy expressed some frustration over his role on the team.
Roy is a former All-Star, but he had to go through arthriscopic knee surgery on both knees earlier this year so head coach Nate McMillan planned accordingly.
Roy is currently a bench player due to the fact that McMillan thinks he’s still trying to find his game after those surgeries:

“I said to Brandon, there’s nobody in this state, including Brandon, that (wants) Brandon on the floor as much as I do,”
“It’s a challenge every time I call Brandon’s name off the bench. That’s our All-Star. We’re going through a season where we are trying to figure out what he can do and how he can help the team and get him through this year. But I know what he has done for this organization. And to call Brandon Roy’s name as a backup is different.”
“As I said, I’m trying to put this team in position – and Brandon knows that, and I’ve talked to the team about that – to win games.” -Source

You’ve got to feel for Roy, but this is something he’s got to deal with.
As a player who was, and maybe can still be, the #1 option, it’s got to hurt to watch your team lose a playoff game from the bench, just helpless.
McMillan seems to think he has better options so Roy has to roll with the punches and that’s exactly what he’s doing (publicly, at least).
According to reports, Brandon Roy apologized for his comments today during the Blazers shootaround prior to their 1st home playoff game this season tonight in Portland.