PORTLAND, Ore. — Trail Blazers all-star guard Brandon Roy has told the team he is retiring because of ongoing difficulty with his knees.
Portland players were informed of Roy’s decision to seek medical retirement Friday before the first practice of training camp.
Roy, a five-year veteran who helped the team shed its “Jail Blazers” reputation, has been dogged by knee injuries and surgeries. He has said he lacks cartilage between the bones in both knees.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said Roy had not filed the retirement paperwork with the league.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Blazers forward Nicolas Batum said. “I still can’t believe it.”
If Roy, 27, files for medical retirement, insurance would likely take care of his salary in coming years.
“It’s a tough situation,” center Marcus Camby said. “People will say ‘Hey, he’ll get his money.’ But Brandon’s a competitor.”
Meanwhile, forward La- Marcus Aldridge has undergone a heart procedure and will miss up to two weeks.
The procedure treats Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, a condition that causes the ventricles of the heart to contract prematurely. He was diagnosed with the disorder in 2007.
Girlfriend of Jazz center Jefferson arrested
SALT LAKE CITY — The live-in girlfriend of Jazz center Al Jefferson was arrested in a domestic dispute after authorities say she bit the 6-foot-10, 265-pound player.
Shirley Lewis was booked into Salt Lake County jail late Thursday, records show. She was later released.
Prosecutors were reviewing possible separate charges against Jefferson, Cottonwood Heights police Sgt. Dan Bartlett said Friday.
Jefferson, 26, and Lewis, 38, were having an argument “when she hit him and bit him on the back” in front of her two children, according to a police report.
The Associated Press
