As the 2012 NBA Draft approaches, the Chicago Bulls are looking for creative ways to improve their team going into the upcoming season, so what if they could land a top-10 talent without giving up any assets? The Bulls are among four teams linked to Brandon Roy for a possible comeback, according to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The former NBA All-Star and No. 6 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft is just 27 years old and may be available for the full mid-level exception as he attempts to make a comeback.
Roy was amnestied by the Portland Trail Blazers last season and he retired due to chronic knee pain, but Wojnarowski notes a comeback is still a real possibility:
As ex-Portland Trail Blazer Brandon Roy plans his comeback to the NBA, the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves have emerged as serious suitors to sign the former All-Star guard, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Roy's recovery from chronic knee problems has been recently spurred by undergoing the platelet rich plasma therapy procedure that Lakers star Kobe Bryant popularized with NBA players, sources said. The blood spinning procedure gave profound relief to the knees of Bryant, Tracy McGrady and baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
The platelet rich plasma therapy procedure is typically used to protect cartilage in the knees, but Roy has very little cartilage left and is essentially bone-on-bone at this point in his career. The hope that Roy could return to peak form is dubious at best, as Zach Lowe of Sports Illustrated explained in an exchange via Twitter:
Have spoken to three sports medicine experts who say platelet-rich-plasma therapy would have little/no value to Brandon Roy.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_SI) June 26, 2012
@RotowireATC Yeah, that's what folks are saying.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_SI) June 26, 2012
To end on a positive note, the Minnesota Timberwolves may be out of the running for Roy at this point, as they traded the No. 18 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft to the Houston Rockets in exchange for swingman Chase Budinger and the rights to Lior Eliyahu on Tuesday morning.
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