Roy Returns to the Court in Pro-Am Game

On Saturday, Brandon Roy did something that used to be routine: He played a basketball game. Roy’s performance at the Jamal Crawford Pro-Am League in Seattle was his first public appearance on the court since his last game for the Blazers some 15 months ago. In the interim, Roy has retired due to deteriorating condition of his knees, undergone treatment, started a comeback and agreed to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves to start the next chapter of his career.

When close friend Will Conroy first hinted and later confirmed on Twitter last week that Roy would play, it created a buzz in the Seattle basketball community, but also some skepticism. Roy pulled out of a pair of charity games at the last minute during the summer of 2011, and he’s yet to officially put pen to paper on his new contract with the Timberwolves. Yet Roy arrived about 20 minutes before gametime and changed into his red jersey. The teams in Crawford’s team are all named after NBA teams, so for one day, Roy–along with Conroy and another former Husky, Mike Jensen–was a member of the Bulls. They squared off against a Kings team featuring Isaiah Thomas and former Blazer Martell Webster.

After scoring the first bucket of the game on a pull-up jumper going to his left, Roy was quiet offensively the rest of the first quarter. This being a pro-am setting that features a gap in talent between NBA stars and local preps that played at the community college level, it was difficult to tell how much Roy was trying to push things. He opened the game using his occasional drives to set up teammates rather than score at the rim.

Is Height as Important as it Used to be?

Most professional organizations have a diversity of opinion on a given issue or philosophy. Many of those inside front offices who have espoused a broader interpretation of what it means to be an NBA power forward, shooting guard or center feel vindicated by the way in which the Miami Heat won the title.

“The NBA is a pick-and-roll game, not a post game, so you need guys who have defined skills regardless of their size,” one scout said. “The league has been that way for a long time, but we ignored it because the Lakers and Celtics were winning, so size seemed like it matter. We told ourselves that you needed to be big and long to win.”

It is not that rebounding and height aren’t valuable commodities. Watching your 6'2'' shooting guard rotate to close on a 6-foot-10 sharpshooter is as painful as ever, but coaches, execs and scouts uniformly maintain that valuing — or devaluing — a player strictly because of his size is an antiquated exercise.

Jeremy Lin Admits Linsanity Affected Him

As he looked back on the craziest year he could imagine, Bay Area native Jeremy Lin conceded to the truth of hindsight. He did let Linsanity go to his head.

“If I’m being honest, in some ways, yes,” Lin told this newspaper. “I fought it every day. But I think subconsciously it had its effect, everyone catering to you. People were saying only good things for so long that when people said negative stuff, it was like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on?’ ”

After Lin signed a three-year, $25 million contract with the Houston Rockets, a lot of negative things were said. He’s selfish. He’s all about the money. His ego is out of control. And, to top it off, many deemed him a basketball fluke who already has maxed out his potential.

Magic Frustrating Trade Partners

Mostly, what seems to be the sticking point in this deal is not an agent or player, but the indecisiveness of the Magic — and their new GM, Rob Hennigan.

According to sources, the Magic have frustrated potential trading partners by continuously changing terms at the last minute. This supposedly dates back to their dealings with the Nets a few weeks back, when Nets GM Billy King felt an agreement that would send (Dwight) Howard to Brooklyn had been finalized, sources said.

Instead, the Nets re-signed their own free-agent center, Brook Lopez, eliminating themselves from landing Howard.

Derrick Rose: ‘I’m going to be all right’

Derrick Rose has stayed quiet since his season — and the Chicago Bulls’ title aspirations — was cut short by a knee injury in the playoffs, but the 2010-11 MVP surfaced in a YouTube video posted Friday, telling fans not to worry about him.

“Hopefully you’ll see me back out there,” Rose said in the video. “My biggest concern is don’t worry about me. I know I’m going to be all right. I know that I’m healthy, I’m positive, I believe in God, so I should be back there on the court soon, and I hope that you support not only me but the Bulls.”

Rose tore his ACL in Game 1 of the Bulls’ first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 28. He had surgery on May 12, and has kept a low profile since.

Brown Returning to Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns have re-signed guard Shannon Brown to a two-year, $7 million deal, a source told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard.

Brown averaged a career-high 11 points per game last season, his first with the Suns.

Orlando Content to Wait on Howard?

Some believe that the drama is playing out in the Lakers’ favor. In their trademark fashion, the Lakers will show up late to the party but still leave with the best-looking date, just as they did in the Steve Nash Sweepstakes. “The Lakers aren’t his first choice, but they’re his best choice,” one executive said. “And the Magic know they need Dwight on board to get the most in return.”

Others feel Orlando is content to wait, and many of them have quickly become admirers of new Magic general manager Rob Hennigan. “He’s not in a hurry,” an NBA executive said. “He has a very cool attitude, as if he knows something the rest of the league doesn’t know. It makes you wonder, is there a third wave of suitors out there? Is he holding out for [James] Harden or [Serge] Ibaka?”

Every executive agreed that, despite his petulance, Howard is worth a ton. “He’s an emotional midget,” one said. “But he’s worth moving a roster for.”