Joel Przybilla Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Joel Przybilla Retires

August 24th, 2014 at 5:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Center Joel Przybilla has retired, reports Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). The veteran of 13 NBA seasons last played in the NBA with the Bucks in 2012/13, and he didn’t wind up with an NBA deal last season in spite of his optimism in the spring of 2013 that he would find one.

The 7’1″ Przybilla started most of his nearly 600 NBA games, though he never averaged more than 6.4 points per contest. He was instead well-regarded for his work on the boards, having led the league during the 2008/09 season in total rebound percentage, a measure of the percentage of rebounds a player grabbed while on the floor, according to Basketball-Reference. He was also a rim-protecting presence, as he averaged 1.4 blocks in just 19.8 minutes per contest over the course of his career.

Przybilla was a 1998 McDonald’s All-American who attended the University of Minnesota before the Rockets picked him ninth overall in the 2000 draft. Houston promptly traded his rights to the Bucks, the team that will go down as the one with which he both made his debut and played his final game. He also appeared with the Hawks, Blazers and Bobcats. The BDA Sports Management client walks away from the game having earned more than $44.7MM in the NBA, as his Basketball-Reference page shows.

Jeff Teague Signs Offer Sheet With Bucks

July 13th, 2013 at 4:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 4:27pm: Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times is hearing continued chatter that the Hawks won't match the offer sheet (Twitter link). The deadline is tonight.

WEDNESDAY, 11:37pm: It appears the Bucks need only to renounce their rights to Joel Przybilla to fit Teague's offer sheet under the cap, Stein tweets. If Teague has already signed the offer sheet, I'd presume the they've already renounced Przybilla, but we'll see if that's the case.

11:18pm: Teague has signed the offer sheet, Wojnarowski and fellow Yahoo! Sports scribe Marc J. Spears report.

10:32pm: Jeff Teague is set to sign a four-year, $32MM offer sheet with the Bucks, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Once he signs and the Hawks are notified, Atlanta will have three days to match the offer. The teams appeared to be pursuing sign-and-trade options, but once Teague puts pen to paper on the offer sheet, that option will disappear.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier today that the Bucks were preparing the offer sheet, and he wondered if that was a tactic designed to spur sign-and-trade negotiations. Either way, it appears the Hawks aren't willing to play along. The Bucks may have to make some maneuvers before Teague can sign the offer sheet, particularly since the team is about to absorb Luke Ridnour's $4.32MM salary via trade. Grantland's Zach Lowe pointed out earlier that the team would likely have to clear some space, pointing to a Drew Gooden amnesty as a possibility. Renouncing the rights to Brandon Jennings could also do the trick, and with Teague, Ridnour and O.J. Mayo set to join the backcourt, I wouldn't be surprised if letting go of Jennings is the way Milwaukee goes. The team has already renounced its rights to Monta Ellis.

Teague will presumably sign the offer sheet Thursday, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, leaving little time for the Bucks to make corresponding moves. The danger in letting go of Jennings and Ellis would be the possibility that Atlanta would match the offer sheet, although sources told Lowe that the Hawks have little regard for Teague. The point guard's camp was reportedly growing frustrated by Atlanta's lack of meaningful negotiation.

The ASM Sports client's numbers have gone up across the board in each year since his rookie campaign, and last year he put up 14.6 points and 7.2 assists per game with a 16.8 PER. Despite his steady improvement, it looks like he'll fall short of the money many of his peers from the 2009 draft class landed in long-term extensions last fall.

Odds & Ends: J.R. Smith, Celtics, Davis, Jack

April 28th, 2013 at 12:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

J.R. Smith is likely to opt out of his deal for next season with the Knicks, and once he does, he'll be looking for a long-term deal, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. While Smith's comments suggest he'd favor the Knicks over other teams, New York can't do any better than a four-year deal worth about $25MM, since they only have his Early Bird rights. As our Ryan Raroque surmised when he looked at Smith's free agent stock, the Sixth Man of the Year will be able to command a hefty raise on his $2.8MM salary this season. We'll soon find out whether the Knicks' best offer will be enough.

Washburn has more on the NBA as part of his weekly column, and we'll round that up along with other Sunday afternoon tidbits here:

Washburn gets former NBA executive Tom Penn's take on the future of the Celtics, and hears from Glen Davis of the Magic, who says he's willing to stick it out through the team's rebuilding process.
Jarrett Jack is adamant that he'll prioritize a return to the Warriors in free agency this summer, even if it means passing up the opportunity to become a starter elsewhere, as he tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
Bucks center Joel Przybilla saw a total of just 68 minutes this season, but he says he's healthy and believes he can still play in the NBA next season, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. He'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Shooting guard Trey Johnson and Italian club Angelico Biella have parted ways, Sportando's Emiliano Carchia reports (Twitter link). Johnson appeared in 11 games with the Pelicans in 2011/12, and has also spent time with the Cavaliers, Raptors and Lakers.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress already had Giannis Adetokunbo on his list of early entrants for the draft, as did we, and agent Giorgos Dimitropoulos confirms the Greek swingman has officially declared, Givony tweets.

Bucks Sign Joel Przybilla To One-Year Deal

August 9th, 2012 at 12:40pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 9TH, 12:40pm: The Bucks have officially signed Przybilla, the team announced today (Twitter link).

AUGUST 6TH, 10:15pm: The contract is a one-year, $1.35 million deal, tweets CSNNW.com's Chris Haynes.

9:03pm: Joel Przybilla has reached a verbal agreement to sign with the Bucks, tweets JournalTimes.com's Gery Woelfel.

AUGUST 3RD, 6:14pm: Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com says the Mavericks, with 15 players already on the roster, seem like "a distant third" behind the Bucks and Trail Blazers in the competition for Przybilla. He adds that the Mavs have expressed interest in Przybilla ever since the free agent period began July 1st, and that the team was among those interested in signing him at midseason in 2011/12.

1:32pm: Unrestricted free agent Joel Przybilla is expected to make a decision at some point this afternoon or evening on where he'll play in 2012/13, a source tells SI.com's Sam Amick. As Amick notes, Przybilla's options appear to be the Trail Blazers, Mavericks, and the Bucks — we heard earlier today that Milwaukee was considered the frontrunner.

While all three clubs have some form of mid-level or room exception available, I would imagine Przybilla won't land more than a minimum-salary contract. When he eventually signed for the 2011/12 season, the 32-year-old earned a prorated portion of the veteran's minimum from the Blazers. In 27 contests for Portland, the big man played 16.6 minutes per game, averaging 2.0 points and 5.1 rebounds.

If Przybilla signs with the Bucks, he and Samuel Dalembert will be the only true centers on the roster. However, the team has a few other guys that could play in the middle, including Ekpe Udoh and Drew Gooden.

Bucks Eyeing Mickael Pietrus, C.J. Miles

August 3rd, 2012 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks are currently looking to add an athletic wing to their roster, and according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, the team is mulling either a trade or a free agent signing. While trading one of their many power forwards for a wing is one possibility, the Bucks are eyeing a couple options on the free agent market. Mickael Pietrus and C.J. Miles are both potential targets for Milwaukee, says Woelfel.

According to Bill McCandless, Pietrus' agent, his client would "absolutely" be interested in playing for the Bucks. McCandless confirmed that he and GM John Hammond had exploratory talks in July, and given comments made by the agent last week, I'd assume he's looking for a portion of Milwaukee's mid-level exception for Pietrus.

Miles, meanwhile, is said to be drawing interest from the Cavaliers and Lakers in addition to the Bucks. Like Pietrus, he figures to be seeking more than a minimum-salary contract. For their part, the Bucks still have their full $1.957MM bi-annual exception and $4.35MM of their mid-level exception to use on free agents, if they so choose.

Woelfel adds that the Bucks are viewed as the frontrunners to land Joel Przybilla, whose meeting with the team earlier this week reportedly went well.

Odds & Ends: Bulls, McGrady, Przybilla, Blazers

July 31st, 2012 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

This afternoon's MLB trade deadline may have stolen the headlines, but there's certainly been no shortage of NBA transactions today either. The Sixers, Bulls, and Timberwolves each announced signings, while the Celtics made four new contracts official. As we wait for the next series of NBA roster moves, let's round up some odds and ends from around the Association….

The Bulls may have interest in signing Tracy McGrady, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Joel Przybilla's Monday meeting with the Bucks went well, but the Trail Blazers (and presumably the Mavs) are still in the running for the big man, says Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter).
Brandon Roy's return to the NBA, which was made official today, will cost Paul Allen and the Blazers about $17MM in insurance money, according to Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com.
The roster moves made by the Hornets this summer represented a strong step in the right direction, writes John DeShazier of the Times Picayune.
ESPN Dallas explores potential targets for the Mavericks in 2013.

Odds & Ends: Blazers, Przybilla, Gentry, Villanueva

July 30th, 2012 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

With Olympic basketball underway in London, new Timberwolves Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved led the Russian squad to a victory over Great Britain in each team's first game. Former NBA veteran Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored 22 points for Britain, and has also reportedly agreed to play in Israel for the coming season. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter) confirms an Israel Today report suggesting that Mensah-Bonsu has agreed to terms with Maccabi Tel Aviv. The 28-year-old had played in regular-season games for the Mavericks, Spurs, Raptors, Rockets, and Hornets in four NBA seasons.

Let's round up a few more Monday odds and ends….

The Trail Blazers will interview their final four coaching candidates today and tomorrow, starting with Steve Clifford today, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian. Kaleb Canales, Terry Stotts, and Elston Turner are the other finalists.
Joel Przybilla says he's meeting with teams this week and will decide "really soon" where he'll play in 2012/13, though he didn't say if the Blazers are still in the running, according to Quick (Twitter links). We heard last week that the Bucks, Blazers, and Mavericks were all interested in the big center.
Suns coach Alvin Gentry isn't concerned that the team hasn't extended his contract, which will expire at the end of the coming season. "My view is if a person has a three-year contract, you assess it at the end of three years," said GM Lon Babby, and Gentry is on board with that approach, as he tells Randy Hill of FOX Sports Arizona.
Plenty of Pistons fans were disappointed that Detroit didn't amnesty Charlie Villanueva earlier this month, but the veteran forward tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that he plans to take advantage of the opportunity and use fans' scorn as motivation.

Woelfel On Bucks, Przybilla, Meeks

July 29th, 2012 at 5:25pm CST by Sean Highkin

Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times has a notebook about the Bucks' plans for the remainder of the offseason, including several players they have interest in:

Woelfel writes that the Bucks remain interested in Joel Przybilla, as was reported earlier this week. They view him as a fit to back up Samuel Dalembert.
The Bucks have explored the possibility of signing free-agent guard Jodie Meeks, Woelfel writes.
Woelfel notes that the Denver Nuggets attempted to move ahead of the Bucks in June's NBA Draft to select John Henson, Milwaukee's eventual selection.

Bucks, Mavs, Blazers Interested In Joel Przybilla

July 27th, 2012 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 1:02pm: Przybilla will meet with the Bucks on Monday, and is expected to meet with the Mavs and Blazers as well, though no dates have been set yet, says Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.

MONDAY, 1:28pm: In addition to the Bucks, the Mavs and Trail Blazers have also expressed interest in Przybilla, according to agent Bill Duffy. Duffy tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that those three teams have shown the highest level of interest in his client.

12:23pm: A week after tweeting that unrestricted free agent Joel Przybilla was on Milwaukee's radar, Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times reports (via Twitter) that interest between Przybilla and the Bucks is mutual. According to Woelfel, the 32-year-old center is expected to meet with the Bucks later this week.

Rumors that Przybilla will return to the team with whom he started his career are nothing new — when the big man was deciding where to sign earlier this year, he narrowed his options to four clubs, including his hometown Bucks.

While Milwaukee has plenty of forward depth, the team could use a center to back up presumed starter Samuel Dalembert. Players like John Henson, Ekpe Udoh, and Larry Sanders may all see a few minutes in the middle, but are likely more suited for the power forward position.

Odds & Ends: T-Wolves, Griffin, Nuggets, Hollins

July 16th, 2012 at 10:57pm CST by Michael Pina

Chris Haynes from CSNNW.com has confirmed that the Timberwolves offered Derrick Williams and two first round picks in exchange for Nicolas Batum earlier this summer. Portland, obviously, turned the deal down. (Twitter link). Batum has signed an offer sheet that was given to him by Minnesota, but Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey has repeatedly said he would match it before the Wednesday night deadline, sending him back to Portland on a four-year, $46.5MM deal.

After tearing his left meniscus during a Team USA practise last Wednesday, Blake Griffin was forced to remove himself from the Olympic games. The Clippers forward had successful surgery today, and is still expected to be ready in time for training camp, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc J. Spears.
The Nuggets are considering using their amnesty provision on forward Chris Andersen, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Andersen has two years and $9MM left on his deal.

Earlier updates: