Interview: Blazers' Przybilla — 'If we could pull this off, man, it'd be
something special'
Thursday, October 8 | 9:26 p.m.
Excerpts from an Oct. 1 interview with Portland Trail Blazers center Joel
Przybilla at the team's practice facility in Tualatin, Ore.
A feature that ran Oct. 5 on Przybilla is here
On watching the Blazers change:
It's been a lot of ups and downs, you know. Especially my first couple years
here.
On his first two years with the team:
I knew things were going to turn around. I knew things couldn't get any
worse, man, to tell you the truth. I was joked about people with that — 'It
couldn't get any worse for a while there.' But I knew management, and the new
coaching staff with Nate, I knew they were going to, just the mentality and
the way he was, and the coaching staff, I knew they were going to change
things. I just had to be patient, man. And things are paying off. It was
great last year, being part of a team that won 54 games; where I've been at
the bottom and am now coming to pretty much the top, you know. You know, all
the hard work's paid off. And you know, not only me, but Travis (Outlaw) —
Travis has been here as I long as I have. And management, the coaching
staff. And not only that, but the fans, you know. The die-hard fans who —
you've gotta give a lot of respect to those fans who were still supporting
us when we were only winning 20 games a year, you know. And, you know, I
still see a lot of those faces that were in the stands, who are still there
now.
On recognizing longtime fans in the stands:
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Definitely. I recognize some people that have been coming
to games. There's a couple people that sit by us that on the bench that, even
though we won 20 games a couple years in a row, they were at every game, man.
And you've got to give the support to them. Because without them, the Rose
Garden wouldn't be a special place.
On when he noticed the change first occur:
I could tell that once they brought Nate in that first year that, it was
going to take time, and that we've just got to get the right group of guys,
so Nate could coach them in the right direction. Because we had some problems
here with — I won't say players — but it just wasn't the best situation for
Nate as a coach; it just wasn't his style of play. And we brought it back.
And now we've got the group of guys that Nate wants, that management wants,
and it's paying off.
On what he brings to the team:
I know what I bring to this team. And it doesn't, it's just not my mentality
— I don't need to be the guy whose got the cameras in my face. You know, I
just go out there and work hard every night. And I know these guys respect
what I do. I know the coaching staff respects it. And I know; what really
means to me is when I've got my teammates; they know what I do and they
respect it. You know, I've got a lot of teammates that I played with the past
couple years come up to me, I see them on opposing teams, and they're like,
'Man, I miss playing with you. I wish I was still there.' And, for me, that's
the biggest complement I could have.
On remaining a Blazer:
I've got to look at the business aspect, too. I've had people talk to me
about that already. You're not the first person that's brought that up. But,
you know, I just want to play the season first and get through this year and
play every game and get to the playoffs and win our division and get far in
the playoffs, and whatever happens, happens. We'll worry about that when the
situation comes. I know it's an early-player termination (contract clause),
but I don't ... that's the offseason.
My wife and my son are happy here. We've talked about it a little, my wife
and I. And she's very comfortable here. And it's like a second (home), even
though we don't live here now, it's like a second home to us, man. And we've
got a lot of close friends that we stay in touch with very close during the
summer; they come visit us back in Wisconsin during the summer. It'd be tough
being somewhere else. Especially the fact that I've been here so long, and
seen where this organization has been.
Trust me: I think about a lot. People have asked me that a lot. And that's
the thing: This would be the greatest opportunity to win a championship,
definitely. Because I fit so well with my teammates and I think it's such a
great role for me — I don't know if I could play this well somewhere else.
You know what I'm saying?
On playing with center Greg Oden and starting for the Blazers:
I look at last year — it's such a long season. Greg started the season and
he got hurt. I started, he came back. And then, by the end of the year, Nate
was comfortable with me starting and having Greg come off the bench. You
know, I don't look at it; we've got so many — I mean, no matter what the
first or second unit; the second unit could start on a lot of NBA teams. And
it just goes to show how deep we are. And if we can pull it off and work
together, it just shows the type of people we are as a unit, the type of
people we are as players. If we could pull this off, man, it'd be something
special.
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