I just spent sometime with a good friend of mine who plays basketball over in Europe and he had a few insights on Freeland. I know this thread won't create a lot of buzz, but I figured a few of you would might be interested. My friend played a handful of scrimmages and practices with him for a 10 day period and came away very impressed. The first thing he said to me was, "He was way better than I thought he would be." My friend doesn't usually dish out compliments to marginal players, so that instantly got my attention. I asked him what he was so impressed about and he quickly said his athleticism is very high. He spoke of some 3 on 4 drills where he would throw Freeland a bounce pass around the FT line when he was trailing, and he said he turned those into easy dunks, in traffic. He said in one of the game he dunked it taking off from outside of the key, which you know is a trapezoid over there. He said Freeland didn't shoot a ton of outside shots, but the mid-range jumpers look decent. I asked if he thought he was ready to play in the NBA and he said probably not yet. He said he thinks he would be every bit as good as Cunningham and Pendergraph, but admitted he knows very little about Cunningham's game. The most interesting part of the conversation was when Freeland's agent was taking my friend to the airport. He got a call from the 503, and asked my friend if he knew the number. Obviously my friend didn't, but then he found out it was Tom Penn. Freeland's agent told my friend that Kevin Pritchard wants Joel to come over this year, but he is 100% against it, and he's told KP that he doesn't want Joel over there because we won't play him this season. He also told my friend that something with his contract or rights change next summer that would be more advantageous to Joel and that's another reason they're going to hold off. I'm not exactly sure what he's talking about, but if some of you know about a players rights, please help me fill in the gaps. Sorry it was long and I'm pulling the "I have a source" card, but I figured it mght be interesting to some of you.
It's interesting that Pritchard wanted to bring him over. It seems a big sub-theme of the summer is to get PF help. I wonder why that is such a big focus. Losing Frye and Travis? That might be enough yeah. Just interesting to think what Portland would have done if they had succeeded in getting Millsap.
I don't understand why Freeland's agent wouldn't recognize a phone call from Penn or Pritchard. Anyway cool story. I'm assuming Freeland's buyout next summer will be less? Although I thought he was a free agent now, and looking to find a club to sign a long term deal with.
No, his agent knew, I just think he was trying to be funny since he knew my friend was from Oregon too.
Interesting stuff. I wonder why KP wants Freeland over when we already have Pendergraph and Cunningham, not to mention the other Joel. Are there some trades that KP is trying to line up?
lol, well we're only 9 posts deep, and now I'm accounting for 4 of them! I'm glad you liked it. It's the biggest "inside scoop" I've ever had, so I felt obligated to share it with my fellow Blazer fans!
Again, I got the impression it had something to do with his contract or his rights. However, I do not understand how that works, so hopefully someone can help us out here.
I think Freeland under estimates how much he would actually play. I am a HUGE propoent of bringing him over. I see Freeland as our backup PF/C of the future behind Oden & LMA. With him comming over this year, it would allow Freeland to adjust to the NBA game and pick up a few "tips" from Pryzbilla before he opts out in FA next year.
I don't think Freeland is questioning how much he would play, it's his agent that is concerned about his lack of playing time. I think my friend said he name was something weird like Arn or Arm. I couldn't really tell what he said.
Sure, sounds good to me. He never said his last name, but Arn sounds right. My friend said he was a funny guy.
I wonder though. Arn Tellem is one of the more powerful Agents in the NBA. He's also got Roy, Aldridge and Webster I believe.
Well that doesn't add up then. There is no way he would be giving my friend a ride to the airport if he was anything big. I'll ask him the next time we talk and see if I can confirm.
I guess, I see it as two different things. If Freeland was worried he wasn't going to play I would think that means he's someone who would rather play than be in the NBA or that he doesn't have confidence in his own game. If his agent was worried about his PT, I would tend to believe that he is looking out for what will make Joel (and in turn, himself) the most money over the course of his career.
