To be sure, Brandon Roy doesn't coach the Garfield High School boys' basketball team for the money.
On Thursday, he intimated that he's not paid or paid much at all, which is OK because he made upwards of $100 million as an NBA player.
No, Roy says he heads up the Bulldogs program to share himself with the kids at his alma mater, to provide them with full-fledged opportunity to advance in the game beyond Garfield that wasn't always there for the school's basketball-minded students, mentioning his older brother Ed by name as an example.
However, once this coaching position was taken away from Roy last year over allegations of player tampering that didn't hold up, he wasn't left dangling in the Central District wind.
To the contrary, he admittedly was very surprised by what happened next.
Roy told how his former NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers, and his college team, at the University of Washington, each called and asked if he wanted to join them.
"The Blazers president and GM, they reached out and said, 'Hey man, want to come down and do something down here?' " he said, presumably referring to Dewayne Hankins and Joe Cronin. "I was thrilled by that."
Roy said Husky basketball coach Danny Sprinkle called next and offered his assistance, as did UW athletic director Pat Chun.
Asked what what sort of basketball role might have been available to him in Montlake, Roy laughed and said he was withholding any details because he still might consider doing something at his alma mater someday.
All of which served as sort of a big tease for those who keep close tabs on Roy and Husky basketball and have wanted to see something come together there.
"I'll keep that private because there still may be something in future," he said, before wisecracking, "It wasn't to be head coach."
Yet Roy seems to really enjoy coaching basketball at the high school level.
Somewhat forlornly, he remembers turning in his keys to the school when he was relieved of the job and thinking that this part of his basketball world was over and he would have to move on.
He was pleasantly surprised by everyone who contacted him thereafter and wanted to help keep him in the game in some capacity.
"I've got a lot of friends in high places," Roy said, "who wanted me to be a part of what they were doing to make me feel better."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/washington as Out Of Work, Brandon Roy Had Trail Blazers and Husky Options .
