Joel Freeland

[Sinobas]

Is this our starting center next year? Looks like he can rebound, and has a nice scoring touch inside.

 

[Brock]

he should be over next summer im thinking with camby, smith , and oden departing

 

[Nikolokolus]

Not a center.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Not a center.

6'11" 255 lbs., he has the size and athleticism. The international scout that 'Behind the Beat' interviewed said he can play both PF/C in the NBA.

#FWIW

 

[Brock]

great backup to LA then.

Roster would look like this Im assuming....

Felton/Smith
Wes/? Williams?
Wallace?/Batum
LA/Freeland
??????????

 

[Further]

He is good at positioning, which should translate to the NBA, but I think he will need more upper body strength to hold that position once he establishes.

 

[Sinobas]

great backup to LA then.

Roster would look like this Im assuming....

Felton/Smith
Wes/? Williams?
Wallace?/Batum
LA/Freeland
??????????

Someone is going to have to play center for us.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I still think if Joel Freeland is our starting center then we are in trouble. It's argued which league is better, but even if you believe the league Freeland plays is is better, it's not a ton better than the D league. Babbitt lit up the D league

 

[Sinobas]

I still think if Joel Freeland is our starting center then we are in trouble. It's argued which league is better, but even if you believe the league Freeland plays is is better, it's not a ton better than the D league. Babbitt lit up the D league

He's in euroleague, which is a lot better than D-league.

We'll probably re-sign Camby and play him till he drops (unless he gets another injury and decides to retire). But we can't count on Oden or Johnson, and the only FA option next year is Chris Kaman, who is also injury prone.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Re-sign Camby? Take that damn money and sign a FA or use that cap space in a trade.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Could a D-League team ever beat last year's Lakers? Because that's what Barcelona did. Ricky Rubio is getting more minutes on the Timberwolves (or are they a D-League team?) than he did on Barcelona.

Freeland will, I think, be a solid rotation player (which is a lot better than I expected in his first couple of years - he's really improved). But he's more David Lee than Andrew Bogut or Tiago Splitter. He's got height but he's got kind of stumpy arms. They play him pretty much exclusively at PF, from what I can gather (although team UK plays him at C).

It should be pointed out, however, that Freeland has not been dominant in the Euroleague in the way that, for example, Kirilenko has. If it was a choice between getting Freeland and getting AK, I'd go for AK, even taking age into account.

 

[Nikolokolus]

He's in euroleague, which is a lot better than D-league.

We'll probably re-sign Camby and play him till he drops (unless he gets another injury and decides to retire). But we can't count on Oden or Johnson, and the only FA option next year is Chris Kaman, who is also injury prone.

I like Marcus Camby, but resigning a 38 year old center with a history of injury problems isn't much of a plan. They desperately need to swing a trade or sign a free agent and probably need to draft a project or two.

 

[Sinobas]

I like Marcus Camby, but resigning a 38 year old center with a history of injury problems isn't much of a plan. They desperately need to swing a trade or sign a free agent and probably need to draft a project or two.

What center do you want to sign? Chris Kaman (who is also injury prone). Ben Wallace? Jermaine O'Neal? Omar Asik? Desagana Diop? Nazr Mohammad? I wouldn't give Camby 10 mil a year, but I'd try to re-sign him, and at the same time, work at getting a replacement that can play defense and rebound.

 

[Boise Blazer]

I like Marcus Camby, but resigning a 38 year old center with a history of injury problems isn't much of a plan. They desperately need to swing a trade or sign a free agent and probably need to draft a project or two.

I somewhat agree but its all about the amount of money offered and the length of the contract. If the price is reasonable and we can set it up for team options at the end I would love to keep Camby. Im sure a lot of that will depend on how much we win. If we do Camby may be willing to take less and have team options. But in the end its all about how well he can stay healthy. Even at this age he is productive. Some nights, very productive.

 

[Boise Blazer]

What center do you want to sign? Chris Kaman (who is also injury prone). Ben Wallace? Jermaine O'Neal? Omar Asik? Desagana Diop? Nazr Mohammad? I wouldn't give Camby 10 mil a year, but I'd try to re-sign him, and at the same time, work at getting a replacement that can play defense and rebound.

I agree. For the right price I would take Camby over all of those players. Except maybe a rejuvenated Kaman which I dont think is going to happen.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

While I don't think Freeland is the answer at center, we can plug him in there. There aren't a lot of dominant centers right now so he shouldn't be all that much of a liability.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I somewhat agree but its all about the amount of money offered and the length of the contract. If the price is reasonable and we can set it up for team options at the end I would love to keep Camby. Im sure a lot of that will depend on how much we win. If we do Camby may be willing to take less and have team options. But in the end its all about how well he can stay healthy. Even at this age he is productive. Some nights, very productive.

I said sign OR TRADE ... not being privy to whom is or isn't available it's pretty tough to say. But given just your list I'd sign Omar Asik in a heartbeat. He was very, very good (as a strictly defensive big) for the Bulls last year and would compliment LMA well.

 

[Boise Blazer]

I said sign OR TRADE ... not being privy to whom is or isn't available it's pretty tough to say. But given just your list I'd sign Omar Asik in a heartbeat. He was very, very good (as a strictly defensive big) for the Bulls last year and would compliment LMA well.

I think Asik is pretty good player but to me it seems like Camby (at this point anyway) is a better fit. He is just as good defensively, probably as mobile if not more so which fits in with our running style, he is a better passer and is important to the chemistry of the team. I dont claim to be a Asik expert but I like Camby better at this point in time.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Camby is 38 Asik is 25 ... I like Camby quite a lot, but expecting him to be able to play at a high level for much longer is wishful thinking. If Camby wants to sign a one year deal for the vet's minimum I'd go for that, but anything else would be a bad investment.

 

[Boise Blazer]

I guess that all depends on how much you think Camby would drop off next year and how much Asik would improve because stats wise its not really close. Asik would have really improve and Camby would have drop way off. Not impossible but not likely.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Camby is 38 Asik is 25 ... I like Camby quite a lot, but expecting him to be able to play at a high level for much longer is wishful thinking. If Camby wants to sign a one year deal for the vet's minimum I'd go for that, but anything else would be a bad investment.

I would have to agree with you on this one. We all like Camby but this year is pretty much it for him in terms of major minutes. He has looked good the last two games, but I can't see him holding up all season. I would be surprised if he gets a full MLE next year.

 

[Boise Blazer]

I would have to agree with you on this one. We all like Camby but this year is pretty much it for him in terms of major minutes. He has looked good the last two games, but I can't see him holding up all season. I would be surprised if he gets a full MLE next year.

Thats the gamble, when did you or the Blazers think his production and/or minutes will fall off???? And not that Im counting on it but if Oden did come back and cut down on those minutes I wonder how that would impact that decision.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Thats the gamble, when did you or the Blazers think his production and/or minutes will fall off???? And not that Im counting on it but if Oden did come back and cut down on those minutes I wonder how that would impact that decision.

Every free agent signing or trade acquisition is a gamble ... but IMO, Asik turning into a starting caliber center who can play next to LaMarcus is a lot more likely than Camby holding up for even another year.

 

[Boise Blazer]

Every free agent signing or trade acquisition is a gamble ... but IMO, Asik turning into a starting caliber center who can play next to LaMarcus is a lot more likely than Camby holding up for even another year.

I can Asik getting much better for sure but I would have to disagree that Camby will drastically fall off next year. Thats too much for me see happening. Decline yes, but not significant enough to be worse that Asik next year. And I wouldnt really want or expect Camby to give us more that 2 more years.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Camby had the highest TRB% of his career last season - one of the highest in NBA history, higher than Kevin Love's "historic" season. But, he didn't play enough during the regular season to qualify as the league leader. And, that's the problem with Camby. When he's on the court, he's one of the best rebounders in the league - STILL. The problem is keeping him on the court.

And just a little trivia: the last four times Camby has played in the play-offs, he has been the post season leader in TRB%.

The Blazers desparately NEED rebounding from the center position. Camby, even at his advanced age, is still one of the best rebounders in the league.

BNM

 

[Nikolokolus]

I can Asik getting much better for sure but I would have to disagree that Camby will drastically fall off next year. Thats too much for me see happening. Decline yes, but not significant enough to be worse that Asik next year. And I wouldnt really want or expect Camby to give us more that 2 more years.

Camby had the highest TRB% of his career last season - one of the highest in NBA history, higher than Kevin Love's "historic" season. But, he didn't play enough during the regular season to qualify as the league leader. And, that's the problem with Camby. When he's on the court, he's one of the best rebounders in the league - STILL. The problem is keeping him on the court.

And just a little trivia: the last four times Camby has played in the play-offs, he has been the post season leader in TRB%.

The Blazers desparately NEED rebounding from the center position. Camby, even at his advanced age, is still one of the best rebounders in the league.

BNM

What BNM points out is my main point with Camby, it's not his ability that I expect to see decline dramatically ... it's his availability

 

[Boise Blazer]

What BNM points out is my main point with Camby, it's not his ability that I expect to see decline dramatically ... it's his availability

Ok, just out of curiosity would rather have say 2/3 or even 1/2 a season of Camby next year or a whole season of Asik?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

The Bulls have taken away both of the Euro players I covet: Omer Asik and Mirotic (who just won Euroleague MVP for the month at the age of _20_).

 

[magnifier661]

I am really curious about this Freeland Cat. I've been reading on him from you posters for over 4 years. I haven't seen a minute of his action. I'm no stat geek, so I don't rate my love for a player on it. What makes this guy so special? I really don't know.

 

[Further]

I am really curious about this Freeland Cat. I've been reading on him from you posters for over 4 years. I haven't seen a minute of his action. I'm no stat geek, so I don't rate my love for a player on it. What makes this guy so special? I really don't know.

So I have not seen a ton, but I have watched a couple games. Here is my thought. High bball IQ. He has not been playing very long so I was not expecting much more than raw abilities, but he seemed to naturally place himself in good position for rebounds.
Also, he goes back up quick. So for example, in one of the games he shot the ball, missed, rebounded his own shot and tossed it up again, and was jumping for the rebound again and was still in position to get the rebound, but the ball went through the hoop.

I was not really impressed by him on offense, but on D and rebounding, he seemed to rotate very well, anticipate ball bounces, and body up well. He seems a little weak for Center, especially upper body, but hopefully that could still develop.

I am not saying that he will be a top PF/C in the league, but I think he certainly has the ability to help an NBA squad and possibly be a starter one day. IQ and work ethic can pay big dividends in the NBA, especially with bigs.