The NBA lockout has rendered what would normally be an active July free agency period dormant. But that's not going to keep us from looking at some of the available free agents and analyzing whether or not they could (or should) be on the Trail Blazers' radar. First, a look at Portland's current roster: PG: Raymond Felton, Armon Johnson, Nolan Smith, Patty Mills* SG: Wesley Matthews, Brandon Roy, Elliot Williams, Jon Diebler SF: Gerald Wallace, Nicolas Batum, Luke Babbitt PF: LaMarcus Aldridge C: Marcus Camby, Greg Oden*, Chris Johnson *Restricted Free Agent, extended qualifying offer Once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached the salary cap will undoubtedly look much different, impacting how Chad Buchanan and Co. pursue free agents. As of today, here are the Blazers' salaries that will count against the cap for the 2011-12 season (via HoopsHype.com): Brandon Roy $15,032,420 Marcus Camby $12,866,332 LaMarcus Aldridge $12,372,000 Gerald Wallace $10,500,000 Raymond Felton $7,560,000 Greg Oden QO-$8,788,681 Wesley Matthews $6,135,160 Luke Babbitt $1,768,800 Elliot Williams $1,348,800 Nicolas Batum $2,155,365 Patty Mills QO-$1,117,493 Armon Johnson $788,872 Chris Johnson $788,872 (non-guaranteed) (Not included above are rookies Nolan Smith and Jon Diebler, whose salaries will be determined in the new CBA.) Looking at the Blazers roster, the most pressing area of need is behind LaMarcus Aldridge at power forward. They're set at small forward with Gerald Wallace and Nicolas Batum, who will both surely see some minutes at power forward as well. After that, the next big question (no pun intended) is at center. Marcus Camby is 37 (he'll be 38 by the end of next season), has missed at least eight games every season of his career and has an attractive, expiring contract. The Blazers extended Greg Oden an $8.8 million qualifying offer and team president Larry Miller has expressed on multiple occasions Portland is "committed" and "invested" in Oden's future here. But the former No. 1 overall pick has only played in 82 games in four NBA seasons. Outside of injuries, the questions surrounding Oden include what kind of interest he will garner from other teams and if someone will offer him a multi-year deal. D-League Defensive Player of the Year Chris Johnson, who turns 26 on Sunday, is an intriguing young player who showed potential in 10 games with the Blazers. So what does it all mean? The Blazers definitely need to add depth at power forward and center ... and possibly at shooting guard. With that in mind, we'll take a look at one free agent a day over the next several weeks, letting you comment/opine/debate on that player's value to the 2011-12 Portland Trail Blazers. We'll start with a familiar face in Rip City: Joel Przybilla. Przybilla spent six and a half seasons in Portland, playing the role of rebounder, defender, enforcer and fan favorite. Traded to Charlotte along with Dante Cunningham in a trade deadline deal for Gerald Wallace, the 11-year veteran appeared in just 66 games the last two seasons thanks to a ruptured (then re-reptured) right patella tendon. He told Jason Quick in February he felt his Trail Blazers career may have one more chapter. Przybilla is viewed by many as a viable, and affordable, option for teams looking for frontcourt depth -- if he can return healthy. You decide: Should the Blazers look at bringing Przybilla back? Vote in the poll and leave your comments below. http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2011/07/trail_blazers_2011_free_agency.html
Tough call. Assuming he can run better than when he left............Sure if you have room on the end of the bench, and he comes real cheap, and he does not take the place of a good young prospect, why not. Thats a lot of ifs.....but he would be a good presence in the locker room and a good vet to come in and take some hard fouls and set some hard screens.
If he'll accept the minimum and be our 3rd string center, then fine. In reality, I don't think there's a place for him here anymore. Too bad, because I love Przy.
Let's see, who's better, Chris Johnson or a slower Przybilla. Hey, this is easier than I expected. Get Joel.
Not sure how we can answer this question without having any idea how / if his recovery has come along. If he looks like he did when he left, then I'd probably prefer to let Chris Johnson or some other prospect develop.
Absolutely. By the time 2012 rolls around he should be servicable. Not many soldier's like Pryz around.
YES! We need bigs and he's better than most. He may get injured but if he lasts until Greg comes back why not? He's a badass, I love his game. He gives us a toughness down low that we're lacking. Why should we not resign him?
I like Joel and will always appreciate what he did for the team, but don't think he's got much left. Torn patellar tendons really rob athletes of quite a bit ... more so when they are over 30. Regrettably I have to say, "pass."
Of course depends on his health and on who else is available; although I am starting to believe that if a team does not have a superstar scorer, that they need to put five players on the floor who all have offensive capability.
It depends. If much better than when he left here, athletically, then I'd take a flyer on him. We probably cannot get someone better than him as a FA. If he's still hobbled, then I'd stick with Chris Johnson or the best FA you can sign.
We don't need a backup center as much as we need a backup four. Joel is a nice center, but if GO and Camby can handle the majority of minutes at the five, then we need to allocate that slot for a true power forward.
Even if Joel were still capable, which he probably is not, I don't want to witness his final catastrophic injury, particularly not in a Blazers uniform. He should kiss his wife and kids and go fishing. Joel will always be one of my favorite Blazers.
I'd pass, he was absolutely horrible last year, and even if he regains some athleticism I don't see him ever being a quality part of an NBA rotation. He was a role player when 100% healthy, so if he gets back to 90% that just isn't good enough to have a positive impact on an NBA team. McDyess went from a perennial all-star to a role player as a result of that injury; it'll bump Joel down from a role player to someone who doesn't belong in this league. We need to target two veteran role players such as Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry, Jeff Foster, Dalembert, etc. If we can only get one then we can look for another young Chris Johnson, a D league player with some potential upside as the 15th man. I would rather have a roster spot go to a guy with a rare chance of becoming a role player then a has been who will sadly never return to form again. If Joel had never player for the Blazers would fans still have interest in trying to sign him? I think not. It's a bad idea to try and sign a guy purely based off previous emotional feelings.
