“I’ve sat back and thought about this, and talked about this with my friends,’’ Roy said. “Everyone thinks the sacrifice is going to have to come from me and LaMarcus. And yeah, it is.
“But an even bigger sacrifice is going to have to come from Andre and Joel,’’ Roy said. “Say Joel comes off the bench. Does he relax and say this is Greg’s team, that Greg is the future, just go ahead Greg? Or does he say I’m gonna push myself everyday to make sure Greg is great and to make sure that when I come in the game I’m even better?
“And does Andre say OK, I will come off the bench and make sure this is the best second lineup in the NBA? Or is he going to say, Steve is starting, I’m going to relax?’’
...
“But it only fits if they want it to fit,’’ Roy said. “They can make it a great second lineup. If that's the bench lineup, they can make it great. Andre has to make that sacrifice and say, ‘I'm going to make this my lineup. We're going to be ready every time. I don't care if the starters come out and get behind by 20, we're going to come out and put our mark on the game.’’’
I asked why he didn’t just tell that to his teammates.
And that’s when the next veteran move of Roy was revealed. He was already two steps ahead.
“We will meet as a team before the season starts – players only – and we will talk and I will express how I feel,’’ Roy said. “We have to have that mindset if we are going to be considered an elite team. And that’s something I have to express to the team. Because man, if we can do that … we will be a tough team. A really good team.
“But it has to be said.’’
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