Sports Column

Blazers need a pure point guard

On Sports • Better not play Brandon Roy there all the time; Kevin Pritchard should look for someone smaller, quicker

By dwight jaynes

The Portland Tribune, May 16, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (17 Reader comments)

Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets beats San Antonio's Tony Parker to the basket in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals. Is Brandon Roy going to be able to stop Paul consistently in future seasons, if Roy plays a lot of minutes at point guard?

NATHANIEL S. BUTLER / GETTY IMAGES

As I watch New Orleans make its solid playoff run, I realize that there’s a good chance I’m seeing a team that’s going to be a big Trail Blazer rival over the next several seasons.

And while Chris Paul did not play particularly well in his matchups with the Blazers this season, he’s certainly a player Portland is going to have to deal with for a long time. (And don’t talk to me about him becoming a free agent and ending up in Portland. Nobody expects Paul to go anywhere).

The dilemma the Blazers will have in dealing with Paul is the possibility of Portland getting a lot bigger in the backcourt.

This team seems to want to play Brandon Roy more at the point guard position. There also seems to be a dream of playing Roy and possible newcomer Rudy Fernandez together in the backcourt.

I think it’s fine to think about those possibilities — but I wouldn’t want to ever think it could be employed over the long haul.

First, the idea of Roy becoming a full-time point guard:

I don’t think so. I think Roy is a combo player who can give the team quality minutes at small forward, shooting guard and point guard. Most of all, he’s the player you want to have the ball in his hands at the end of games. You want him to be your go-to guy. But that doesn’t make him a point guard any more than it made Michael Jordan a point guard.

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