MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn confirmed Wednesday that the team is interested in signing free-agent shooting guard Brandon Roy.
Roy, whom the Timberwolves selected sixth overall in 2006 and then immediately traded to Portland for the draft rights to Randy Foye, announced his retirement on Dec. 10, 2011. He has suffered from a condition in which he lacks cartilage between the bones in both his knees.
Last week, the 27-year-old three-time All-Star unofficially announced his comeback, tweeting from college teammate Will Conroy's account. Since then, teams have begun to express interest. Golden State general manager and Roy's former agent, Bob Myers, has confirmed that his team is interested in the guard, and CBSSports.com has reported that multiple teams are interested.
Kahn's confirmation of reports that the Timberwolves are looking at Roy did not involve much explanation. The team has spoken with Roy, Kahn said, but if the Timberwolves are interested, they cannot sign him until the moratorium on signings is lifted on July 11.
"(I) don't want to talk about that other than to say we're interested in him," Kahn said.
In five years with Portland, Roy averaged 19.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists. His best season came in 2008-09, when he averaged 22.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists. His numbers decreased sharply in his final season in the league — Roy's 12.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in 2010-11 were the lowest of his career.
If Roy is healthy, he could be the type of player the Timberwolves still need to add, even after acquiring Chase Budinger from Houston on Tuesday. In Budinger's introductory news conference, coach Rick Adelman stressed that Budinger is primarily a small forward, and though he can play shooting guard, he doesn't solve the team's needs at the position.
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