Joel Freeland

Big Shot Bob · Jul 2, 2009

I remember hearing somewhere that the Blazers were going to renounce his rights to release them of his cap hold. Unfortunately I think the only way they do it is if they sign a free agent for a lot of money. In the even that that they do renounce his rights, Morey needs to jump on that immediately. This kid is like a 22 year old 6'11 David Lee. What are y'alls thoughts on this?

kjhwang · Jul 2, 2009

Big Shot Bob said:

I remember hearing somewhere that the Blazers were going to renounce his rights to release them of his cap hold. Unfortunately I think the only way they do it is if they sign a free agent for a lot of money. In the even that that they do renounce his rights, Morey needs to jump on that immediately. This kid is like a 22 year old 6'11 David Lee. What are y'alls thoughts on this?
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...Who?

FishBulb913 · Jul 2, 2009

Big Shot Bob said:

I remember hearing somewhere that the Blazers were going to renounce his rights to release them of his cap hold. Unfortunately I think the only way they do it is if they sign a free agent for a lot of money. In the even that that they do renounce his rights, Morey needs to jump on that immediately. This kid is like a 22 year old 6'11 David Lee. What are y'alls thoughts on this?
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If he's a 22 year old 6'11 David Lee, I don't think Portland would be renouncing his rights. That's just me though.

xiki · Jul 2, 2009

Big Shot Bob said:

I remember hearing somewhere that the Blazers were going to renounce his rights to release them of his cap hold. Unfortunately I think the only way they do it is if they sign a free agent for a lot of money. In the even that that they do renounce his rights, Morey needs to jump on that immediately. This kid is like a 22 year old 6'11 David Lee. What are y'alls thoughts on this?
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Jump on someone that someone else, with a talented talent eye, is just dumping?

thumbs · Jul 2, 2009

Three words here ..... grasping at straws.

RedRowdy111 · Jul 2, 2009

Joel Anthony from Mia has more potential.

jopatmc · Jul 2, 2009

I sure would like to acquire Freeland. He's a great shooter with very good mechanics along with great size. A spread the floor type of player that can really shoot the 3 ball, but with enough size and length to be an effective NBA defender in the paint.

BimaThug · Jul 2, 2009

Joel Freeland was the #30 overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft, taken by the Portland Trailblazers. Because he is an unsigned first round pick, he counts against Portland's salary cap (but not the luxury tax - little-known wrinkle). Portland would only renounce his rights if they could not find a trade partner and if it was absolutely necessary to sign Hedo or another major free agent.

The guy is not a scrub. He is considered one of the top young big men playing overseas by DraftExpress.com. While I don't see him as a potential interim starting C while Yao is out, he is a decent prospect to take a flyer on, either by trading "future considerations" to Portland or by picking him up if he's waived.

Bogey · Jul 2, 2009

xiki said:

Jump on someone that someone else, with a talented talent eye, is just dumping?
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Yeah, kinda how we aquired Scola.

tingYAO · Jul 2, 2009

We already have Yao.

Rocket_Boy_34 · Jul 2, 2009

tingYAO said:

We already have Yao.
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We'll see.

baller4life315 · Jul 2, 2009

I've been hearing about how good this guy was for years. At 6'11" and given how much i've been begging and pleading for a frontcourt overhaul, the idea of acquiring him has definitely caught my attention.

m_cable · Jul 3, 2009

If the Blazers are going to renounce this guy anyway, then why not just offer up a 2nd rounder for him.

At 6'11" 250 lbs he's got to be worth a flyer. Here's what draftexpress says about him:

From February 26 said:

Joel Freeland’s (#7 on rights held ranking) scouting report was just updated back in November, and there isn’t a great deal to add to that besides saying that he’s continued to play well. He’s playing solid minutes in the ACB and continues to score efficiently and pull down plenty of rebounds, particularly on the offensive end. The fact that he ranks 6th in the league in PER while being amongst the league leaders in a host of other categories is obviously no joke considering that he just turned 22.

In the one game we saw in Madrid he did a good job putting his athleticism on display, going after rebounds on both ends, chasing blocks and generally being very active. Offensively, he looked somewhat tentative, not being much of a presence for Gran Canaria, which is not a huge surprise considering his limitations on this end of the floor. He’s mostly a finisher at this point (albeit a very good one at that) and seems to struggle when asked to do much more than that, as he lacks great footwork or much range on his jumper. He’s also somewhat foul prone and clearly not very experienced, averaging a high amount of turnovers relative to his role.

Although it’s pretty clear that that Freeland is not ready to contribute in the NBA, it seems like this summer will be the time for Portland to bring him over if they indeed intend on getting him in a Blazers uniform. He has an NBA escape clause and is drawing major interest around Europe from some of the top teams around, for example Real Madrid, Barcelona and Fortitudo Bologna, who all appear to have interest. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Gran Canaria decide to cash in and sell his rights at some point, which would likely make Freeland’s spot on the NBA rookie scale (around $800k gross) look paltry relative to the new contract he’d receive.
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November 22 said:

From an NBA perspective, though, the most interesting player on this team is definitely Joel Freeland. The British big man and former Portland Trailblazers first round pick in 2006 (30th overall) is having a breakout season thus far, averaging an outstanding 12 points, 5 rebounds in just 18 minutes of action, shooting 67% from the field and throwing in a block per game for good measure.

From a per-minute standpoint, there is not a more productive player in the ACB at the moment. Per-40 minutes Freeland is averaging 28 points, 12 rebounds and 2.5 blocks, after only playing 9 minutes per game in the ACB last season.

At 6-11 and approximately 250 pounds, Freeland is quite an interesting player from a physical standpoint, as his frame appears to have filled out nicely and he’s retained pretty much all the athleticism that made him a prospect to begin with. Freeland runs the floor well, is very explosive off his feet, and possesses nice fluidity and agility for a player this size.

Inside the paint Freeland can make a big impact, as he has the size, bulk and explosiveness to finish everything around the rim with a powerful dunk, and is quick and active enough to go out of his area and make a living on the offensive glass as well. He is an excellent finisher and is beginning to improve his skill-level to a certain extent as well, showing nice hands and decent touch when forced to finish with a bit of finesse.

Freeland is still fairly limited when asked to create offense for himself, either with his back to the basket or facing up, as he lacks significant offensive polish and is still clearly learning the fundamentals of the game. Defensively he is a solid shot-blocking threat, but is still a little bit inexperienced in his knowledge of the game, making him somewhat foul prone at times.

At just 21 years old, and only playing basketball for a few years now, Freeland obviously still has a great deal of upside left to tap into. He is probably still a few years away from being able to contribute to an NBA team in a meaningful way, but the sparks he’s showing at times are quite promising. The Trailblazers are probably the last team in the NBA who need another young big man prospect, but they have the advantage of continuing to let him develop in Spain for free, and reaping the benefits later.

The only problem is that at some point, the highly unattractive slot allotted to the last pick of the first round according to the rookie scale may be outweighed by far better offers from Europe, especially considering Freeland’s British passport, which makes him a Bosman A player. Another season in Europe may make things difficult on Portland later, even if Freeland clearly isn’t ready right now for the NBA.

Regardless of what happens, you have to tip your hat to Kevin Pritchard and his outstanding staff for continuing to stockpile such promising prospects.
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http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Joel-Freeland-1055/

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