A Wild 4th of July in Blazerland
posted: 7/4/2006 at 11:24 PM
What an incredible day for the franchise. Again. Not only did the team get its top two draft picks signed, but Bill Duffy, the agent for Joel Przybilla, has been reported as saying his client will be signing with the Trail Blazers, apparently ending all speculation.
To cap off an incredible Tuesday/Wednesday for the Blazers, they'll be signing their other first-round pick Sergio Rodriguez tomorrow, as the team heads for Las Vegas to begin play in the summer league.
I mentioned in yesterday's blog that it appeared to be good news when the Chicago Bulls were able to lure Ben Wallace away from the Detroit Pistons. Chicago had been rumored to be a possible new home for Przybilla. Tuesday morning the news was starting to break around the country that Przybilla had turned down Detroit and San Antonio, and would be re-signing with the Trail Blazers. That was according to Duffy.
Duffy told
The Oregonian's Jason Quick Tuesday, "I think it came down to a number of things at the end of the day – first and foremost he and his wife absolutley love Portland,'' Duffy said. "The community, the people, the lifestyle. Joel was impressed with the moves they made in the draft. He felt like they were serious about changing. And at the end of the day, Joel is a loyalist. Two years ago, when nobody else believed in him, Portland signed him to a two year deal. He felt very strongly about that.''
LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy signed their rookie contracts with the Blazers on Tuesday. There was only a slight delay, and the players flew to Lake Tahoe last night and went through their first practice with their new team. Today they'll fly with the team to Las Vegas to being play in the summer league. Rodriguez will also fly to Las Vegas, but will only stay for a short time and won't be playing. He's returning to Europe to join his national team, and will be taking part in the World Championships in Japan later this summer. As I mentioned yesterday, he will be on the Blazers roster next season.
Tomorrow the Blazers Broadcasting team, including yours truly, will be flying to Las Vegas to join the team. We've got some great coverage planned, and I'll be blogging every day during summer league. I'll keep you up to date on how everyone looks, will provide you with photos, game stories, and exclusive interviews. Trail Blazers.com will keep you loaded with everything you need to know from Las Vegas. Keep in mind that on Tuesday, the 11th, we'll be hosting our radio show,
Courtside Monday Night presented by L.A. Weight Loss, live from the New York New York Hotel and Casino. We'll be inside the ESPNZone inside New York New York hosting the show. We've got some great guests planned, including some of the newest Blazers.
Jarrett Jack won't be playing in the summer league, but he'll be there with the team. I'm also hearing Raef LaFrentz, who the Blazers picked up in that draft-day trade with Boston, will be there to watch the games and to get to know his new team. We're also hearing Zach Randolph may make an appearence to watch the games and see his new teammates.
It will be a terrific week. I'll talk to you from Vegas tomorrow.
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wow thats awesome looking forward to wins this coming season i love the blazers
Hello mike! now that joel has agreed to re-sign and we have 4 new rookies joining us the roster is at 16 players. what is the next move going to be?
Can I tag-along in you suitcase?
what a great day for the Blazers. I am absolutly thrilled that Joel sighed and we have some great positive players on the roster now. Really helped Joel to decide to come back, I remember how Joel was upset last year, maybe this year we have a lineup that will want to play hard no matter what.
even if we have a bad year like last year, but play hard together as a team, all the lineup will get better because of that and grow together.
GO BLAZERS, win or lose you still ROCK!!!!! humble, great natured, positive, friendly, hard working and more. you guys are all ready winners.
Can't wait to see Sergio next year, i am going to keep looking at the series in Japan, and root for sergio to rule
I'm so pleased that Joel decided to stay. It shows a lot of foresight in what we're doing here. He'd be in a rebuilding situation in San Antonio in a few years anyway. I feel really good about this team. I'm wondering if we'll package Randolph and Miles for some veteran leadership.
Mike,
Love your blog. Keep up the great work!
Quick question, do you know if nbatv is replaying any of the Blazer summer leagues games?
Go Blazers!
just gotta say that im so excited that joel chose to stay, even over going to championship caliber teams likes san antonio or detroit. I'm a huge joel fan, i love the way he plays and the way he presents himself off the court. i think he brings teh right kind of talent and personality to this blazers team and for him to choose to come back shows how loyal he is. Joel is the perfect example of player that the blazers need to have. welcome home joel!
P.S. Love the blog mike
Hey Mike~
I am stoked that Joel is coming back. I know that he will be happy with his decision.
I just looked at the videos of Sergio, and all I can say is WOW! we all know what Steve Nash can do as a player, Sergio has those same skills. can't wait for next year for him to play. Pheonix made a huge mistake letting the rights for sergio to go, and Blazers made another great draft day move to get him.
I know this is a young team, but with the team players we have and the attitudes, "the team" is going to be scary for opponants, from the starting line up, to the reserves, there is no seperation from ability and good attitude, the reserves will be scary too.
for me I can't think of how I have ever been so exited about the blazers, even in the era of Drexler and team. This is the team that I love and repsect more then ever, from the GM and coach to the players.
GO BLAZERS!!
I am thrilled that Joel decided to stay with us. He is an awesome player. I am excited for the season to begin. Thanks again to Martel for being "one of the guys" at the draft party. Our team is so impressive, I dare ESPN to bad mouth us!!
like chris said we now have like 17 players and only 12 of them can be on the roster, are we going to keep all these players? or are they going to put some of these players with all the hype on the reserve?
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