Post#37 » by Billy » Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:20 pm
I've thought a little bit about the whole Joel Przybilla thing. I'll start off with saying that I like the guy, he's a great worker, and he does a lot of the little things that a lot of our other guys haven't learned to do quite yet.
Joel is probably considered a bargain by most standards. He's a great rebounder and shot blocker, he's a solid locker room guy from best we can tell, and he's one of the few guys willing to mix it up a little.
But does Joel fit long term for Portland? The signing at the time was huge for the franchise. The Blazers still were suffering through a litany of issues both on and off the court. The youth movement looked atrocious at times. One of the few bright spots was Joel.
At the time, that contract was huge for two reasons. For one, the piddly Trail Blazers managed to keep a free agent away from the Spurs and Pistons while not having to offer double the money. Of course Portland paid more, but the difference seemed negligible compared to the shot in the arm the franchise received.
Secondly Joel still was looking like the guy Portland would have manning the center spot for a while. He was only 24 or so, 4 years removed from being a lotto pick. Portland was the first team to give him a chance on the floor and he took it. Obviously no one felt he would be the next Shaq or Hakeem, but I think it would have been reasonable to hope that he could develop into a 8-10 point, 10-12 rebound, 2-3 block per game center given the improvements he had shown. Considering his age and lack of opportunity before the Trail Blazers came along I don't think that would be too huge of a stretch.
At the time Joel Przybilla meant a lot more to the Trail Blazer than he would to any other team in the league.
Now we've seen really what kind of a player he is. That's certainly not a bad thing. He is capable and probably could deliver the stat line above if given 35 minutes a game. But with Oden coming in next year, Portland should be able to expect even more out of Oden. Meanwhile, do you want to pay 6.5 - 7 million a year for a backup 15 mpg center, or do you want to move him for a player that would shore up another position and/or create extra cap room?
D-train made an excellent point. He's not playing much now anyway. If he can't get off the bench for more than 20mpg is he going to get off the bench even less with Oden around? Throw in a possibly bigger and more improved Aldridge/Frye duo and you may need him even less.
I'm not saying trade Joel Przybilla, just trying to mention a couple of points. Cap space is a dangerous thing to put eggs into. But part of this may come down to this: do you want a shot at a big time free agent--even if it means you don't get him, or do you want to pay a backup center 21 million over the next 3 seasons? Obviously you need a backup center, but as was stated backup centers aren't impossible to find. But Portland probably won't see an opportunity to mingle with a big time FA until Roy, Aldridge and Oden are looking long in the tooth. You can probably find a backup big man to pay 6.5 million a year to without a whole lot of problems.