It obviously doesn’t have the potential of the NBA’s all-time greatest player rivalries, but Randy Foye and Brandon Roy could have something going in the years ahead. No, it won’t be Russell versus Wilt, or Bird and Magic. Still, there are some “seedlings” that could make Roy versus Foye interesting to watch.
In last year’s draft the Timberwolves chose Roy, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, with the sixth pick and immediately traded him to Portland for the draft rights (through Boston) to Foye, a 6-foot-4 combo guard. Last week Roy was named by a media panel as the NBA’s Rookie of the Year while Foye, the seventh pick in the draft, finished fifth in the voting.
Roy led all NBA rookies in scoring at 16.8 points per game. He became a starter for Portland and impressed scouts with his ability to score inside and out. In a recent article in the Sporting News an NBA scout said that in a 2006 draft do-over scenario his first three picks would be Andrea Bargnani, Tyrus Thomas and Roy.
Foye didn’t make the scout’s top five picks. Foye had an okay rookie season, sometimes starting and also being an early sub off the bench. Perhaps most encouraging were his fourth quarter performances. He scored 48% of his points (398 of 832) in the fourth quarters and overtimes. In those late game situations he made 48.2% of his field goals, 39.3% of three point field goals and 87.5% of free throws. His game averages in those categories: 43.4%, 36.8% and 85.4%. He averaged 10.1 points and 2.8 assists per game.
Fred Hoiberg, Timberwolves general manager, was asked about Roy and Foye. “I think both those guys are going to be tremendous NBA players,” he said.
What was the team’s thinking in letting Roy go to Portland? “I won’t give (you) exactly what our thought process was on it,” Hoiberg said. “But we saw Randy as a guy who was going to find a way to get to the rim…a guy who could break down the defense…to create for himself and also create for his teammates.”
Although the Wolves need a backcourt leader and star at the point guard position, Hoiberg doesn’t categorize Foye as just a playmaker. “He’s a combo guy,” Hoiberg said. “He can play one (point guard) or two (shooting guard). It’s going to be an important summer for him to develop new aspects of his game. It’ll be big for him to play in the summer league with Craig (Smith) and Rashad (McCants) and develop chemistry with these guys and to keep working. He needs to be more consistent with his outside shot. He needs to get better with his ball handling but I thought he progressed a lot last year. …”
Hoiberg said Foye “has expressed a desire to be a great player.” Roy is already headed in that direction. On Tuesday Roy and Foye were named to the NBA’s All-Rookie team, selected to the first team as voted by the league’s coaches. The two play for Western Conference rivals, teams that are trying to build for playoff success. They play similar positions and come to think of it, their last names rhyme. Stay tuned.