Primoz Brezec wanted to stay

by Matt Watson on Feb 25, 2008 3:11 PM EST

Michael Grange of the Toronto Globe and Mail (who, incidentally, is becoming one of my favorite out-of-town beat writers to read) has a funny article about former Piston and new Raptors center Primoz Brezec:

Can Brezec play? We don’t know. Can he talk? Absolutely, and the Slovenian big man does it in almost perfect gangsta slang. Why does a Slovenian talk like a rapper? Fellow Slovenian Rasho Nesterovic speculates it might be because he broke into the NBA in Indiana.

"[Your English] depends on where you start in the NBA," said Nesterovic. "I started in Minnesota, he started in Indiana. That’s a pretty tough organization to pick up English."

So true; it's funny to hear Brezec talk, he ends almost every sentence with a heavily accented "man." Back to the article ...

Q. How do you feel about the trade?

"To tell you the truth, at first I wasn’t that excited. I wanted to stay in Detroit and win a championship, I want to play there, I don’t want to sit on the bench. I was not so happy, Toronto’s got a lot of bigs. But now, talking to Bryan and Maurizio, I know I’m going to get a shot here. I just want an opportunity to play. In Detroit there was no playing time. I’m excited now. I know this is a great organization, Bryan is doing a great job, a lot of European guys. I know Sam, he was in Charlotte before I was there, I love it so far. I love the city, love the organization, they sell out every night. I want to be here. Hopefully I’m not going to be here for one year, hopefully I’m going to be here long term."

Q. What went wrong in Detroit?

"What went wrong? I’d rather not say. Everyone knows the problem in Detroit, you know. Great players, great organization. I don’t have one bad word, one bad thing to say. Joe Dumars is the man. The first to the 15th guys make you feel like family. But no playing time, man. No playing time. I was just looking for a chance, and I didn’t get it. In a month-and-a-half, two months, all I got was garbage time. That’s not me man. I’ve been a starter in this league, I know I can play, so I’m not going to sit on the bench. I guarantee you that. I am not going to sit on the bench."

I'm mildly amused at his desire to stay in Toronto "long term" -- he said the exact same thing when he arrived in Detroit from Charlotte. Maybe he's sincere, or maybe he's just really worried about being a free agent this summer.

Raptors new big man has the gift of gab / Toronto Globe and Mail (via Garrett)

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Comments

I don’t expect Brezec (and Herrmann) to care or understand but Nazr wasn’t playing either. Detroit didn’t make that deal because of the respective talents of the players, it was made for cap purposes. Detroit committed to new players minutes — it’s just that those players were named Amir, Stuckey, Hayes, and Afflalo.

by joejoejoe on Feb 25, 2008 5:45 PM EST reply actions

Man, look, the Pistons just beat Shaq and the Suns by 30 pts. I’m not about to waste my time commenting on what the 15 player on the team thinks about his recent trade. Who really gives a damn!!!

by E-Double on Feb 25, 2008 7:52 PM EST reply actions

Ugh. I go to CS to watch the game, and Denver’s sports station is showing the Montana Idaho St. game. Is that what league pass subscribers are getting?

by kevin s. on Feb 25, 2008 9:05 PM EST reply actions

@ kevin s.-

Probably. I went to the “Altitude” website and, according to that, they should be showing the Pistons/Nuggets game now. But… apparently they’re not.

by Anonymosity on Feb 25, 2008 9:11 PM EST reply actions

The best part about the Montana/Idaho St. game they are showing on LP is that is that it was actually played YESTERDAY. Don’t want to spoil who won, but it went to OT!

by Anonymosity on Feb 25, 2008 9:17 PM EST reply actions

Even League Pass Broadband is playing that damn Montana/Idaho game instead of the stones/nuggs. WTF. And the Denver feed they’re using for televised League Pass is completely busted. Digital distortion, time clipping, etc. I just want to watch a fkkking pistons game.

by Mike Payne on Feb 25, 2008 9:20 PM EST reply actions

Two great blocks by Maxiell in the first.

by Pinball on Feb 25, 2008 9:34 PM EST reply actions

There is a game thread and I’m watching on Altitude League Pass style.

by Q Dog on Feb 25, 2008 9:40 PM EST reply actions

Why is it that games people actually want to see are no longer on television, but that crap games can be seen anywhere at any time? Seriously, I bet I could catch 200 Ball St. sporting events this year on cable. But Pistons?

I get the Big Ten network on Direct TV, which is helpful when I want to catch highlights from the 1975 women’s 200 meter butterfly event. But a Wolverines game? No dice.

No wonder the all-star voting is so skewed. Nobody is allowed to even watch a game unless they’re Chinese.

by kevin s. on Feb 25, 2008 9:41 PM EST reply actions

Smart timeout by veteran coach Wayne Tinkle. Seriously, Wayne Tinkle?

by kevin s. on Feb 25, 2008 9:44 PM EST reply actions

Kevin,

Let’s just say the Bucks are f’ing happy with those Chinese fans. I bet they sell more schwag over there than they do in the states! LOL

by Q Dog on Feb 25, 2008 9:44 PM EST reply actions

It’s back!

by kevin s. on Feb 25, 2008 9:44 PM EST reply actions

I wonder how many missed dunks Maxiell has this season? I couldn’t find a way of reporting on that, even though Yahoo et. al. shows “missed dunk” in their box scores and play-by-plays…

by Mike Payne on Feb 25, 2008 10:39 PM EST reply actions