August 25, 2004

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed free agent center Joel Przybilla. The 24-year-old split the 2003-04 season between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks.

“Joel is a young man that has demonstrated the ability to rebound and block shots especially when given the opportunity to play last season in Atlanta,” said Trail Blazers General Manager John Nash. “We would welcome those attributes to our team.”

An early entry candidate for the 2000 NBA Draft, Przybilla was selected in the first round (ninth pick overall) by the Houston Rockets. He was sent to Milwaukee in a draft-day deal and spent three-plus seasons with the Bucks before being traded to Atlanta on February 15, 2004.

In 12 games with the Hawks last season, Przybilla averaged 4.0ppg, 8.4rpg and 1.4bpg. He owns career averages of 2.1ppg, 4.0rpg and 1.37bpg in 153 NBA games over four seasons.

The 7-foot-1, 255-pound Przybilla played two seasons at the University of Minnesota. He led the Golden Gophers in scoring, 14.2ppg, rebounding, 8.4rpg, blocked shots, 3.9bpg, and field goal percentage, 61.3%, as a sophomore.

Przybilla started 26 games as a freshman, finishing second in the Big Ten Conference and eighth in the country in blocked shots, 3.0bpg.