"It's a lot of money," Roy said Aug. 7 during a news conference at the Rose Garden. "You can't hide that fact."

Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard -- then the team's director of player personnel -- swung a deal to land Roy with the seventh pick of the 2006 draft. The former University of Washington standout has made Pritchard look good since then, earning NBA rookie of the year honors in 2006-07, then gaining selection to the All-Star Game in each of the last two seasons as Portland quickly improved from laughingstock to potential championship contender.

"We know now we're going to have this kid for many, many years," Pritchard said. "We know how good he is on the court, but what makes Brandon special is he is a leader. He is a guy who cares about his teammates. He is unselfish. He makes his teammates better. When we went through the draft process, we called him a provider, because he worried about everybody else before himself. Today is a culmination of all of his hard work."

The Blazers offered maximum money from the start. The only sticking point was the fifth year -- the most years a team can offer under collective-bargaining agreement rules. Portland began with a four-year offer, then quickly transitioned into adding a fifth year. Myers and Roy wanted a player opt-out for the final season, when Roy -- by that time approaching 31 -- stands to make between $18.6 million and $20.1 million. In the end, Blazer management decided the player opt-out was acceptable.

"It's hard to put into words," said the Seattle native, who turned 25 last month. "I go to sleep every night, look at my kids and have a big smile on my face. I think about all the hard work I put into this dream. This has been a lifelong journey for me.

"But there's still something missing, and it's a championship -- holding that trophy at the end of a season, knowing we're the best team. This contract is great, but my goal when I came to this organization was to help win a championship. Not just one, but we have to start with one."