Okay, bad injury...twice. But for the last couple years he's been huge on and off the court, in the stats and as an enforcer. So with our history of injuries to bigs is it time to get rid of him. Camby ain't young, Oden has huge risks, Joel probably has little more value than ec, we certainly don't have an abundance of tough guys and if he comes back we get an excellent rebounder/defender. It seems that just a few months after the lovefest for Joel, this fanbase is just throwing his name into every trade scenario like he means nothing. Of all the things people are saying about players and moves, all the 'throw in Joel's contract' talk seems pretty shady. I understand the business of basketball, but what about showing some allegiance to the one guy on this team who has earned it more than anyone.
He's badly injured, he's an expiring contract, and we now have Oden and Camby, not hard to figure out.
Oden and Camby should hardly be enough to go into the season with. We are a team of softies and would/have got killed by the physical style in the playoffs. Pryz's value is the same as Oden's in that they are worth far more to our team than any other team in the league. ie-their trade value is far lower than their ability level. As soon as Oden or Camby get hurt and we have to call on Howard to play extended minutes, our season is over. I believe Oden can come back and be a great player just as much as any other fan, but I also know the likelihood of losing one of the two is pretty high. What then? The insurance policy of Joel rehabbing and coming back at some point is MUCH higher than his trade value. I can just hear people (the ones who say get rid of him) at some point next season saying 'wish we still had Joel.' Expiring contracts are about the most overrated subject on these boards.
I think there was a general assumption that Joel would leave after this year, anyway, due to Oden's emergence. Combine that with an injury bad enough that a lot of people think it will end or severely limit his career, and suddenly he's of more perceived value as a trade chip.
Joel is not only big and long, but he was also a relatively quick (not high) jumper and quick laterally. That injury robbed him of that quickness. Everyone that has come back from that injury has had to alter their game to one more on the ground. It's also a two-year rehab to get back to whatever you're going to get back to. He'll return this year, and look slower than Vlad Stepania. We're unlikely to re-sign him after his contract expires, so his highest value is as an expiring contract that will be largely paid by insurance. It sucks, but that's the reality given Joel's age, ability and contract status.
Very logical MaxiP.. But if anyone can come back from this injury it's Przybilla. Joel probably works twice as hard as the average NBA player, it's not easy being white in the nba, let alone a big man. I'm guessing the reason why he re-injured it in the first place was because he was so far ahead of schedule rehabbing that he got overconfident in his recovery status. A mistake I don't think he'll make again. Furthermore, I think he'll come back to being an anchor in the middle that guards would avoid at all cost. While he lateral quickness may not be all there, Przybilla can jump pretty high, for a 7ft white guy
If everyone is 60% then everyone is probably giving up on him. But looking at his track record I'm sure he'll be back strong and valuable to any team
It's still a sad fact his game has circled the bowl and is slowly floating out to sea. We might as well see what we can get for his expiring contract. Besides, we may draft a decent defensive center and also have Freeland stashed in Europe.
I don't see any evidence of that... He plays hard, but he's never added any offensive refinement to his game, and despite all the hype about his MMA/kickboxing off-season conditioning, the video footage of it they showed on the news was quite pathetic by even non-athlete standards. And I would actually consider Joel to be an above average athlete among 7 ft'ers, so that can't be claimed as something he had to overcome.
Why not? I don't think that many teams have THREE starting-level centers on their team. I hope Joel comes back, but whether he does or not is independent of whether we, as fans, think he will or not. Ed O.
One patellar tendon tear is bad, tearing it again 3 months later is probably more than just twice as bad. I loved Joel while he was here, but with his soon to be expiring contract and the very difficult road ahead of him in terms of rehabbing just to get back to the point where he can walk normally (let alone the mobility required of a professional athlete, I think it's a pretty safe bet that Joel's time as a Blazer is rapidly drawing to a close. It sucks, but there's a certain amount of contractual and "physical" inertia at work here that seems to be too great.
Look at the players who had a similar injury; Cedric Ceballos, Antonio McDyess, Glen Rice, Damon Stoudemire, Alonzo Mourning. They were all shells of their former selves. I will be shocked if Joel is ever an effective NBA player again.
All those guys were well over 30, except McDyess, and he was able to come back to excellent form for the Pistons well into his 30s. It did take a few seasons to recover, though.
I didn't really watch much Piston basketball, but I didn't think McDyess could be called excellent... not anywhere close to what he was. Am I wrong?
He didn't play the same kind of minutes as he did in Denver. He shot better and his rebounds/36 minutes were better in Detroit. The two things you want in a big man, right?
Ummm no. In his youth he was one of the top PF in the game and in All-star. After he finally recovered from those injuries he was never the same, he became an acceptable starter or good backup. Joel was an acceptable starter or a good backup, so if he has a similar decline he'll be playing YMCA ball.
I don't know.... in Denver he was one of the most explosive scorers in the league. I remember him tearing us apart on many occasions. I think he ended up being a very solid player, but compared to what he was... not excellent.
