Joel Przybilla, fake thug? Try Joel Przybilla, real thug instead. Actually, the amusing "fake thug" label was hung on Przybilla -- the former University of Minnesota center and hoops hero of Monticello -- by Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett a few years ago after the two got into a shove-and-staredown under the basket one night. The real thug claim? OK, that might be stretching it. But Przybilla spent long hours last summer as a denizen of Duke Roufus boxing gym on Milwaukee's south side, sparring, throwing punches and feeling the adrenaline course through his veins. "A buddy [personal trainer Todd Troxel] told me: 'You'd be surprised how much it relates to basketball. The stances you use, the slides. Reaction time,'" Przybilla said earlier this week in a telephone interview. "And it was a total body workout. After doing an hour of that, I was beat. I felt like I had played 48 minutes." At 7-1, with no discernible look of menace, Przybilla in a boxing ring makes Kendall Gill look like Sonny Liston. Quickly, he established one ground rule. "I went one round with a sparring partner and said, 'I'm not taking no more hits, man,'" he said. "I'd take some jabs, hooks, things like that at him. I wanted to get a little workout away from basketball. I did one session to see if I'd like it, and I fell in love with it." Those hours in the ring, then, were part of Przybilla's development into a reliable, even formidable center for the Portland Trail Blazers. Six seasons and three teams into his NBA career, he is literally and figuratively a big part of the Blazers' youth movement and future, a team captain and a defensive-minded man in the middle averaging 6.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.67 blocked shots and 27.2 minutes, while shooting 58 percent. If, that is, Przybilla sticks around. He will be a free agent next summer, so his regimen of sticking and moving, boxing style, could be replaced by the issue of sticking vs. moving. Because he will be coming off a two-year, $3 million contract, the Blazers will hold only "early Bird" rights on Przybilla, limiting them to a multiyear offer of about $29 million over five seasons. Thanks to the midlevel exception, all teams will have at least that much available to lure him. And given the market for proven -- heck, even unproven -- big men, he probably could do better in a sign-and-trade deal or by joining with a team that has salary-cap space. Which raises the obligatory question: What about the Wolves? Their starting center, Michael Olowokandi, has a contract that expires this summer, too. Przybilla, in some observers' eyes, is a better long-term bet. They share an agent, Bill Duffy, who pulled a center-switcheroo in 2003, moving Rasho Nesterovic to San Antonio and backfilling with Olowokandi to Minnesota. The KG factor? Actually, Przybilla would be thrilled to play alongside Garnett, at least in theory; he wasn't tipping his negotiating hand quite yet. "I don't think I'm going to turn down anyone," he said. "I'm going to look at every team, look at every option. It still is home for me, at the heart. If I do make a change, I want to win. ... I wouldn't mind playing with Kevin Garnett, one of the best players in the league. Who wouldn't want to?" There is a big "but" that has nothing to do with Garnett or the Wolves. Portland might have first dibs on Przybilla, simply out of loyalty. He and his wife, Noelle, keep their permanent home in Brookfield, Wis.; Przybilla spent his first 3? seasons in Milwaukee, and she grew up in nearby Big Bend. They are expecting their first child, a son, in February and would love to be closer to family. But his time with the Bucks wasn't fun (he often was hurt), and he rode out the final 12 games in 2003-04 in Atlanta. Portland wanted him when no one else did. Now it has paid off for both. "It takes everybody his own time, but he's pretty solid now," said Wolves assistant coach Bob Thornton, who works with big men. "Most of the time, you've got to find yourself. 'How am I going to make myself effective? Am I going to defend more, am I going to score?' He's more aggressive than I've ever seen." Przybilla has four double-doubles this season, including 10 points and 12 rebounds against the Wolves two weeks ago. This is his second visit to Minnesota -- the teams met in the season opener -- but at this point, the Pacific Northwest feels more like home than home. Noelle, visiting today, will spend Christmas in Wisconsin while Przybilla practices and kills time in Portland. "I owe a lot to this organization," he said. "When I was down, coming off that season in Atlanta, there weren't too many offers out there. [Blazers GM] John Nash gave me a shot when a lot of people didn't." That doesn't sound like any sort of thug at all. BIG MEN, BIG MONEY Portland center Joel Przybilla, having his best NBA season, could be one of the most attractive free agents next summer. Here is a look at Przybilla's value, compared with some other centers who already have had their paydays: Player Contract 2005-06 pay PPG RPG BPG Joel Przybilla 2 yrs, $3M $1.56M 6.9 8.0 2.67 (Portland) Jerome James 5 yrs., $29M $5M 3.1 2.6 0.60 (New York) R. Nesterovic 6 yrs., $42M $6.72M 5.7 4.4 1.15 (San Antonio) Adonal Foyle 6 yrs., $51.2M $7.3M 4.5 6.7 1.58 (Golden State) S. Dalembert 6 yrs., $60.6M $8M 8.5 9.9 3.08 (Philadelphia) --

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