Joel certainly knows he is a starting center in the NBA and there are teams that need a starting center. Will KP convert him into another young prospect or will he remain for the rest of his contract as the guy that plays when Oden gets foul trouble?
Joel is under contract with the Blazers for at least two more seasons... making $6.3m and $6.9m. He has a player option for $7.4m in the 2010-2011 season. He'll be 31 when the 2010 season starts... would he opt out hoping to get one last payday, even if he starts at lower salary his first year? Who knows. I would guess he plays it out and then tests free agency the following year. His attitude about coming off the bench should be interesting to see... he has started 316 of the 405 career games in which he's appeared, and he's only come off the bench in 14 games in the last three years combined. I think it will be hard for him to argue he's a superior player to Oden, but he's still used to being a starter and I think that it's conceivable he'll chafe a bit. If the team is winning, though? Playing 15 minutes a game off the bench behind GO would seemingly be more acceptable. So now... the Blazers. He's making a fair chunk of change for a backup center, but he might be the best backup center in the NBA right now, and in terms of being able to play a role (defensive presence) in limited minutes? He's going to be worth every penny they pay him. Portland has several big bodies right now in terms of GO/Aldridge/Frye/Diogu and Joel, but I don't think that they will move him for a youngster any time soon and only Greg and Joel are really centers. The team is pretty young already and if Joel can accept the role that he seems so well suited for, the Blazers should hold onto him at least until his contract expires. Ed O.
I think Joel will be here at least this year and a good possiblity the rest of his contract. I could also see them including Joel next year in a trade. It depends on Oden's health and foul trouble.
joel is well worth his salary right now, so he would have to be looked as a trade asset at some point. if nobody offers anything substantial for him, i say we keep him as a great insurance policy.
Joel will be in POR until his deal expires or someone with a stud SF or PG wants him. He's fantastic insurance for Oden and isn't paid much if any over market. Hypothetically he could demand out, but he might want to stick around to get a ring first
Aside from rookie contracts, is there a better bargain in the NBA for a center than Joel Przybilla? However, teams that really want his services are squads in the upper tier. Somebody to play beside Amare or Duncan or Garnett. He's not the kind of guy you'd throw in to a deal with Atlanta or New York to rebuild. So we could trade him in a three-way deal, which is possible but not as common. Or we could trade him in a package for an elite PG or SF, which would probably be fine with most of us.
I think Joel is a Blazer for as long as he's under contract. His trade value isn't equivalent to his value to the team. Back-up centers, even the best, don't command a premium. As a starter, he's far from elite. He's a great defender, but gives very little on offense. He might be slightly above average as a starter, but I don't think any team is going to see him as enough value as a starter to give up much in trade. Whereas, he has a ton of value to Portland as someone who can spell Oden with little drop-off on defense and on the boards. He allows Portland to maintain strong defensive middle every minute of the game. That's worth too much to jettison for a mediocre prospect or draft pick. If Przybilla opts out or leave after his player option, well, there's not much Portland can do about that. But he's easily worth his salary and there's no real incentive to deal him.
I think KP knows how important he is to our teams success. Greg will be in foul trouble quite a bit this season and Pryz will be needed.
With GO's expected foul trouble this year, I don't expect Joel's minutes to be reduced by much. Next year may be a different story, but that's when our window opens and demanding a trade when a ring is a real possibility is a tough thing to do.
He's a great compliment to our other bigs, so I'd like to see him stick around. Good citizen, good player, good option off the bench. As Ed O stated, he's probably the best back up center in the league.
