Re: Monter Says DerMarr; Bulpett On Trading Down; May looks At Pryzbilla

["Josh Farber" <nbaj2k@home.com>]

What do you think is an example of an offer possibly made for us to move
down?

Just thinking about possibilities.

If we have a shot at DerMarr (do you think we do with Houston and Orlando
both wanting him before us?) then I really hope that we do not trade our
pick away!

Josh
----- Original Message -----
From: "Way Of The Ray" <wayray@ix.netcom.com>
Newsgroups: alt.sports.basketball.nba.boston-celtics
To: "Celtics" <Celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Monday, June 26, 2000 10:50 AM
Subject: Monter Says DerMarr; Bulpett On Trading Down; May looks At
Pryzbilla


> Chris Monter in his latest draft has D. Johnson slipping down
> to the C's.
>
> Steve Bulpett mentioned yesterday that the C's are receiving a
> lot of offers and could trade down. Their interest in Speedy Claxton
> suggests that possibility.
>
> The Usenet Mock Draft has the C's taking Moiso.
>
>
> Unfinished business awaits
>
> Przybilla projects as a top prospect
>
>
> By Peter May, Globe Staff, 6/26/2000
>
>      CELTICS COVERAGE
> from Boston.com
>
> TODAY'S STORIES
>  Unfinished business
>   awaits
>  Complete coverage
>
> MORE CELTICS / NBA
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>
>
>
>
> The general manager of the Orlando Magic, sitting on three lottery picks
> in Wednesday's NBA draft, has presided over workouts, interviews, and
> dinners with more than three dozen prospective rookies. Among those seen
> by John Gabriel was 20-year-old Joel Przybilla, a center who may be
> around when/if Orlando picks first (No. 5), might be around when/if
> Orlando picks second (No. 10), and definitely won't be around when the
> Magic make their last pick (13th).
>
>
> Przybilla is a raw, 7-foot-1-inch player who bolted the University of
> Minnesota in February because of problems with a different coach and the
> same old, academic requirements. He is a shot-blocker, an interior
> presence, a true stopper. He has, like most of this unfinished class, a
> lot of upside, which is the scouts' favorite word to describe a player
> who isn't quite ready for the big time.
>
>
> ''He represents what this draft is all about,'' Gabriel said. ''And that
> is development.''
>
>
> Przybilla will be right at home on draft night, sitting in the green
> room at the Target Center in Minneapolis. It's not far from his home in
> Monticello, Minn., where he became the most sought-after high school
> player in the state since Kevin McHale. It's even closer to the U - the
> university - where Przybilla played for 11/2 seasons until tensions with
> coach Don Monson and his own decision to stop attending class led to his
> departure.
>
>
> On Feb. 9, he had 33 points and 14 rebounds in an upset win over No. 10
> Indiana and, for the second time, was named Big Ten Player of the Week.
> He never played another game for the Gophers. He was suspended Feb. 15
> for skipping classes and, four days later, left the program and the
> school.
>
>
> He has spent much of the last six weeks answering the same questions
> posed by Gabriel as well as other GMs and personnel men: Why would he
> bail out on his team?
>
>
> ''It's a decision I made and I have to live with it,'' Przybilla said in
> a recent telephone interview. ''It wasn't easy to do. I was close to a
> lot of guys on that team. I'm not sure I'd even do the same thing if it
> happened again, but it's over, and I've got to move on.''
>
>
> In a nutshell, it came down to Monson. Przybilla had been recruited by,
> and been close to, Clem Haskins, whose tenure as coach ended after the
> revelations of academic fraud. Monson and Przybilla did not hit off; by
> the time Przybilla left school, they hadn't spoken for some time.
>
>
> ''You could say that,'' Przybilla said, when asked if his conflict with
> Monson was the main reason for his decision to leave school. ''I was
> frustrated a lot. There wasn't a lot of communication. I wanted to play
> for Clem Haskins. He was the main reason I chose Minnesota in the first
> place and I'd probably still be there if he was coaching. But it was
> hard, because I also felt I should be loyal to the school.''
>
>
> It wasn't because he wasn't playing, or that he wasn't playing well. He
> led the Gophers in scoring at 14.2 points a game, in rebounding (8.4)
> and in blocked shots (almost 4 per game). He also shot 63 percent from
> the field, but that is misleading in that he's an around-the-basket
> scorer. He shot only 49.5 percent from the free-throw line. Those
> statistics were for 21 games.
>
>
> Przybilla was warned by Monson about repercussions for not attending
> classes and study halls. He was well within the NCAA guidelines for
> eligibility, but Minnesota had just instituted new academic regulations
> in the wake of the Haskins scandal.
>
>
> ''It was a buildup of a lot of things,'' Przybilla said. ''It was
> gradual.''
>
>
> He also took some flak immediately after leaving. Two days after
> suspending Przybilla, Monson received a standing ovation when introduced
> before the game with Illinois. Even worse, a fan was booed during a
> halftime contest when it was revealed he also was from Monticello.
>
>
> By the time Przybilla decided to leave school, his parents already had
> talked to several player agents. All told them the same thing: Your son
> is a lottery pick. The family settled on Bill Duffy (a Minnesota alum)
> and he brought Przybilla out to San Francisco for daily drills,
> weightlifting, and conditioning.
>
>
> Or, as Przybilla put it, ''it was a lot of training.''
>
>
> Once the NBA lottery determined draft positions, Duffy started setting
> up visits and workouts. Przybilla never made it to Boston; the Celtics
> might like someone with his intimidation skills, but, at 11, it's a
> reach. He just completed his final workout over the weekend, visiting
> Chicago for a second time. He's also been to Orlando, New Jersey,
> Vancouver, Houston, Cleveland, and Atlanta.
>
>
> Of those teams, all are either in the hunt for a center or have one who
> is on the edge of either free agency or retirement. The Nets would take
> him only if they traded down - there have been rumors of a deal with the
> Magic - while Vancouver seems a long shot given it already has Big
> Country Reeves.
>
>
> ''I really don't care where I go,'' Przybilla said. ''Every place I've
> gone, the people have been great. But at the same time, it's been tough.
> There are lot of drills, and it's not like when you're in college, when
> you can go back to the hotel and be with your teammates. Here, you go
> back and you're alone.''
>
>
> How is he viewed? One general manager, preferring to remain anonymous,
> said, ''he could be the next Jim McIlvaine,'' a reference to the
> foul-prone, offensively challenged but shot-blocking center for the
> Nets. ''McIlvaine was a shot-blocker in college too.''
>
>
> Gabriel thought that was a bit harsh.
>
>
> ''He's got a big upside,'' Gabriel said. ''He is a legitimate
> shot-blocker and there aren't many of them in the draft. Most teams
> would like to have one. In workouts and interviews, he's been very
> upfront and conscious of what he said and did and how it reflected on
> him. I think it weighed heavy on him.''
>
>
> But all that is behind Przybilla now. He soon will become a very wealthy
> man and an NBA player. That is what he envisioned when he went to
> Minnesota. It's just coming sooner than he thought and definitely not by
> design.
>