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Barring an injury setback before the season starts, the Trail Blazers will not use the "amnesty clause" on

this season, team president Larry Miller told The Oregonian late Monday evening.

"Our plan right now is not to use the amnesty," Miller said. "We expect Brandon to be a part of this team when the season starts."

Under the yet-to-be-signed collective bargaining agreement, teams have one chance to wipe an entire contract off the books during the time that the CBA is in place. Because Roy has $63 million remaining on his contract, and no longer has cartilage in either knee, some forecasted that the Blazers would waive the three-time All-Star even though he was the face of the franchise.

Waiving Roy would save owner Paul Allen more than $15 million in luxury tax this season and would enable the Blazers to have more free agent money in this year's market.

"We feel he has been there for us, and we want him to know we are supporting him," Miller said. "Paul (Allen) is on board with this and feels the same way."

Miller on Monday held a 90-minute meeting at his home with Roy, agent Greg Lawrence, coach Nate McMillan and Blazers interim general manager Chad Buchanan. During the meeting, all the Blazers officials said they heard the right things from Roy: That his knees feel good and he is willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win, whether that is coming off the bench or starting.

When training camp opens on Friday, McMillan said his tentative starting lineup will be Raymond Felton at point guard, Roy at shooting guard, Gerald Wallace at small forward, LaMarcus Aldridge at power forward and Marcus Camby at center. He said Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews will be the first two players off the bench.

"That is our All Star and we need to look at that," McMillan said. "If it works, great. If it doesn't, then we've looked at it, and you make adjustments. We know bringing him off the bench last year wasn't that productive, and part of that was his mental state of mind. This year he is sounding like if that is the case, he will accept it a little better."

McMillan said he asked Roy directly whether he was OK coming off the bench, and Roy replied with an emphatic "Yes."

Lawrence, who has pleaded with the Blazers to make a decision sooner than later, said the topic of waiving Roy was never broached in Monday's meeting, saying that it was a rather innocuous meeting filled more with pleasantries and how-are-you's than contracts and business decisions.

"There wasn't anything said that was a revelation or a game-changer," Lawrence said.

The Blazers held a 4 p.m. media event at the Rose Garden, during which a multitude of topics were discussed, none of which drew more questions than the future of Roy. While on the podium, neither Miller nor Buchanan would say the team had decided not to use the amnesty clause on Roy. Later, Miller said that was because the team never considered it, and because they wanted to leave their options open in case Roy – or some other player – became injured during practices.

Both Miller and McMillan chastised

said the Blazers had decided to waive Roy.

"It would be crazy for us to make a decision on Brandon Roy before we had talked to him," Miller said.

Added McMillan: "There were a lot of media playing owner and general manager, but there was never a decision to amnesty Brandon."

Roy's future is a lightning rod within the fan base.

His chronically sore knees have been operated on six times in his life, leaving him with bone-on-bone friction. The surgeries have clearly diminished the skills that helped him win Rookie of the Year in 2007 and later become a three-time All-Star.

But he also still has some magic, evidenced in his second game back from double-knee surgery last season, when he capped a wild comeback by hitting a leaning three-pointer to force overtime against Denver, a game the Blazers ended up winning.

Then in Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs, he cemented himself into Blazers lore with a 24-point performance against Dallas, 18 of which came in the fourth quarter, helping the

to stun the eventual NBA champions.

But overall, there were questions about his game and his future

The Blazers were hoping Roy this offseason would reinvent his game, and adjust his expectations to not include being the focal point of the team's offense. Miller and McMillan said they heard the right things from Roy in Monday's meeting and the next step is for him to show it.

Roy told the team he has been working on his outside shooting – a facet the Blazers sorely need from someone on the roster – and will accept whatever role it takes to win.

"He said that last year, too, then he wanted his position back – he wanted to start and he also wanted more minutes," McMillan said. "So why do I believe him now? Well, we talked about it. And I can say, hey, that's what you said. So, we'll see. We will make that adjustment if we have to. But right now, we will approach this with me looking at him in that starting lineup."