Roy says he never thought about retiring

Timberwolves guard Brandon Roy, speaking to reporters for the first time since Nov. 19 arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, said his recovery is going well, he hopes to return to full practice soon and he did not contemplate retirement when the decision was made to have the procedure.

"I never thought about walking away," he said. "It was just, for me, 'Do I want to go through another procedure or do I want to play through it?' That was more my question than walking away."

Roy can do team warmups and run through plays with the team; he took part in Thursday's light workout. But most of his time is spent in the weight room working on strengthening his leg.

"The good thing is, next week I'll be able to start full-go, and it's just more a matter of doing some conditioning and just finally getting to see where my knee is after four weeks," Roy said. "So I'm happy about that."

The Wolves' schedule -- four games in five nights starting Friday in New Orleans -- might preclude a full-contact practice next week, which could push back Roy's return to game action.

Roy admitted to some concern after bumping knees late in the preseason left him feeling "a pinch" in the knee. "About a month later, I'm happy we got it done," Roy said. "And I feel better."

Roy said the pain is gone and the goal now is to get his conditioning back quickly.

Rubio met at courtside after practice Thursday with coach Rick Adelman, President of Basketball Operations David Kahn and head athletic trainer Gregg Farnam.

Adelman said no decision had been made regarding Rubio playing for the first time since reconstructive surgery on his left knee. Rubio did not travel to New Orleans for Friday's game.

"Every day they're testing it," Adelman said. "They're doing work on him to see where he's at. I'm sure we'll make that decision come Saturday. They'll be working with him the next couple days, and then we'll decide."

Rubio will be brought along slowly when he returns, but Adelman said he didn't know if there would be a strict minutes limit. With the team's crammed upcoming schedule, the Wolves need to have a plan.

"There are a lot of things we're talking about," Adelman said. "If he plays, what's the schedule going forward from there? It's not just Saturday; it's how much do we want to play him? All that stuff we're talking about.

Etc. • Guard Malcolm Lee (hyperextended right knee) did not travel to New Orleans.