April 21, 2011, Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum (88, left), center Marcus Camby (23, right), forward Gerald Wallace (3) and forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) exchange high-fives following game three of the first round of the 2011 NBA playoffs at the Rose Garden. Portland defeated Dallas, 97-92. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE

2011-12 results:  28-38, overall, 4th in the Northwest Division

Key Departures: Gerald Wallace, Marcus Camby, Raymond Felton, Jamal Crawford, Kurt Thomas, Jonny Flynn, Joel Pryzbilla, Hasheem Thabeet.

Key Additions: Terry Stotts (head coach), Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard, Will Barton, Victor Claver, Joel Freeland, Jared Jeffries, Ronnie Price, Adam Morrison.

The 2012-13 season for the Portland Trail Blazers is surrounded by question marks. Should LaMarcus Aldridge be included in possible MVP consideration? Is Damian Lillard the point guard of the future? Can Meyers Leonard be a solid NBA center? Will Claver and Freeland be able to gel into NBA basketball after playing overseas for their entire careers? What direction can coach Terry Stotts take the Blazers?

LaMarcus Aldridge showed the league that he’s not only Portland’s number one offensive weapon, but he’s one of the best big men in the league and will go for a second consecutive All-Star berth. Nicolas Batum is the next weapon and will definitely need to prove he’s worth that gross $46 million, four-year offer sheet that Portland matched in July.

It’s difficult right now to see what direction the Blazers are headed. They had to swallow the fact that the Brandon Roy-Greg Oden dream is dead and turned their sights to lottery picks, thereby drafting Lillard and Leonard with the sixth and eleventh picks respectively. Both had a very good Summer League experience, and while Lillard has been said to be in contention for Rookie of the Year, all the young players on the roster need time to grow.

This upcoming season is not a “win now” mode. It’s more of a learning curve and no one expects Portland to win a lot of games and hang around the cellar of the Northwest Division. Even snatching 35 wins would exceed expectations.

Meyers Leonard (now in a Blazer jersey) had some nice dunks in his Summer League debut. Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

In front of a sparse crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Sunday night, the Portland Trail Blazers played their first of seven Summer League games against the new look New Orleans Hornets. Without NOLA’s first overall pick Anthony Davis patrolling the paint, the Hornets had to rely on 10th pick Austin Rivers while the Blazers got a good chance to see how Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard, Will Barton and the rest of the Summer League roster would gel.

Coach Kaleb Canales’ starting lineup featured Damian Lillard, Nolan Smith, Wesley Matthews, Luke Babbitt, and Meyers Leonard. It was clear from the start that nerves on both teams were high. The Blazers fell victim to careless turnovers and poor shooting in the early going, reaching a shooting percentage as low as 27% from the floor.

Rivers would knock down a few deep three-pointers, but looked very anxious, trying to do too much with the ball and not including his teammates down the stretch. It became clear that the Hornets will have trouble trying to convince him into a true point guard, as he looks more comfortable at the two spot.

The Hornets went on a 12-0 run midway through the second quarter that resulted in a 17-point hole for the Blazers by halftime. During the second half, the Blazers buckled down on defensive, Lillard did little bit of everything by dishing pretty passes and propelling himself past his defender on numerous occasions, Babbitt hit a couple of deep threes, and Leonard cruised his way to a double-double en route to a comeback 85-82 win.

Lillard had trouble shooting in the first half going 2-for-10, but then flipped the switch in the second half, going 7-for-11 for a game-high 25 points, to go with four rebounds, four assists, and three turnovers in 33 minutes.

Leonard showcased some talent and hustle by  grabbing plenty of offensive and defensive rebounds, a welcome sight for a big man wearing a Blazer uniform. Leonard is clearly not afraid to commit the hard foul or wrestle away the loose ball. He finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Another pleasant surprise included Luke Babbitt’s 19 points and 10 rebounds with some deep threes and quick moves. Nolan Smith looked very aggressive in the first half, driving inside for a few power layups, but had to leave the game after turning his ankle in the first half.  Post game, the prognosis for Nolan was a sore ankle, and not much more, which is a very good sign. Smith finished with 10 points.

Pretty solid start for the Trail Blazers rookies. They got the day off on Monday, and will face the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.

Brandon Roy may be thinking about making a comeback. Where will he end up if he does, and how will Portland fans react? Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE

Chris Palmer of ESPN went to his Twitter account on May 30th to share his thoughts about former Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy and talks of a possible NBA comeback. The city of Portland remembers that painful day in December before the Trail Blazers had even opened practice when Roy took a medical retirement due to bum knees. Brandon hasn’t played since, but claims to be open to suiting back up.

Palmer’s tweet

Someone who could help the Lakers: Brandon Roy. Based on what I’m told he could be back in the league next year.

This caused plenty of people to freak out, thinking that next season Roy would team up with Kobe Bryant and bring the Lakers back to championship-level contention, breaking the hearts of Blazer fans everywhere in the process.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s first get one thing straight: Palmer didn’t tweet that Roy and the Lakers are already in talks. He simply stated that the Lakers are a team that could use his help.

But what would happen if Roy were seen wearing gold and purple? Tears would be shed, the city would instantly become full of depressed Blazers. Personally, I can’t even imagine him in another team’s uniform.

On the bright side, I don’t see the Lakers picking him up or taking the risk. He can surely pitch in some scoring coming off the bench as a sub for Bryant, but the Lakers would rather retool their roster with younger players or add depth through free agency. Brandon can be a leader for the second unit, but his comeback as a bench player could end up being a disappointment, as it was for him most of last season.

I totally understand Roy’s determination to come back to the league. He’s only 27-years old and is still in his prime playing years. He’s got  juice left in the tank but his knees have betrayed him. A knowledgeable friend of mine suggested that Roy would need at least five years to work himself back to league shape: a year or two to rest and recover, another year for surgery and more recovery, and one year after that to lift weights and get his body into fighting form. With that timeline, we’re looking at a return for the 2016-17 season.

If Roy does decide to give it another go in the next few seasons then I would welcome him. I sure miss Brandon Roy and so do the Blazers. No matter where he ends up, I would never boo him.

If and when a Brandon Roy comeback happens, we’ll see how many Blazer fans share my sentiment. We’ll also see if where he lands, be it the Lakers or some small market Eastern Conference team that comes to Portland only once a season and doesn’t actually compete for a title, makes any type of significant difference.