Who said it? Olshey, Kahn clash on remarks from Batum's camp

LAS VEGAS — The Trail Blazers have matched Minnesota’s offer sheet for restricted free agent Nicolas Batum, who is expected to sign a contract in Portland on Thursday.

I can write that with reasonable assurance.

The rest of what we heard from Neil Olshey on Wednesday, I’m not so sure.

Portland’s new general manager told a small group of media assembled Wednesday afternoon at THEhotel that there was never any doubt the 23-year-old Batum would be re-signed — though the Timberwolves put together an eye-popping contract offer reported at $46.5 million over four years, then engaged in trade talks with the Blazers in a bid to land Batum another way before officially extending the offer sheet.

“The decision (to keep Batum) was made a long time ago,” Olshey said. “We were never not going to have Nicolas back.

“We did investigate certain things with Minnesota as a due-diligence deal. We wanted to explore every option ... but there was never a situation where there was a commensurate package offered that was attractive enough to let Nicolas go.”

So, there was enough doubt, at least, that the Blazers listened to Minnesota GM David Kahn’s trade proposal.

Olshey disputed the notion that Batum preferred Minnesota as a destination next season. He said published quotes from the 6-8 small forward that said as much were contrived by both Kahn and Batum’s agent, Bouna Ndaiye.

“Nic never said that,” said Olshey.

Then Olshey said that Batum did.

“Let’s be very clear,” Olshey said. Batum “made a couple of comments at the behest of the Minnesota Timberwolves and his agent. That was their agenda. It was never Nicolas’ agenda.”

Soon after Olshey came on board, Ndaiye requested all negotiations with the Blazers go through him and not Batum. But Olshey said after a July 5 lunch date with Batum, “Nicolas and I have been in constant communication. He has always expressed his desire to come back to Portland.”

Said Olshey: “I can tell you Nicolas called me after those articles (appeared) and said, ‘They put me up to it. It’s not me. I want to talk to you directly, Neil. I don’t want my agent to know or another team to know. I just want you and I to be on the same page.’

“He always wanted to be back in Portland. I think he would have liked to have done the deal straight up, just like I would have, but he listened to his representative, and he (Ndaiye) got him a hell of a deal.”

So Kahn and Ndiaye put Batum up to those comments as a negotiating tactic?

I don’t think so. I think Batum believes what he said publicly, that he was dissatisfied with what went on in the Portland organization last season and the way he was used, and that playing with the Timberwolves was appealing.

But he is smart enough to realize the Blazers, with the right to match Minnesota’s offer, held all the cards. Maybe, then, he told Olshey what he wanted to hear.

“I think you should talk to the reporter who transcribed Nic’s comments,” Kahn told me Wednesday night when I read him Olshey’s quotes. “Maybe somebody kidnapped Nic and it wasn’t really him on the phone.

“In my dealings with Nic over three days in Minneapolis, he didn’t strike me as the kind of person who chooses his words uncarefully. I understand, however, that it is important for Nic and the Trail Blazers to mend what obviously has been a fractured relationship this last year. I hope they can do so.”

During summer-league play at Cox Pavilion Wednesday night, Ndaiye told me and Chris Haynes, CSNNW’s fine young reporter, that he would withhold comment until after Batum’s signing.

Olshey said Batum’s pending contract “isn’t as egregious as ... was reported in the media. There were some bonuses included that were disallowed by the league.”

Ndaiye said that wasn’t true, that the $46.5-million figure is accurate.

Olshey chided a reporter for suggesting the Blazers might have paid too much for Batum.

The contract amount “doesn’t matter,” Olshey said. Then the Blazer GM had a suggestion for the media: “Let us worry about the money. You guys worry about the players and how well or how poorly we play and how guys are developing. We’ll worry about how we manage our cap and what guys get paid.”

Sure, Neil. Go out and spend Paul Allen’s dollars the way you see fit, and we’ll just trust that you’re making good decisions. Our job in the media is to support you and cheerlead and cross our fingers that you know what you’re doing.

That’s certainly the way Blazer fans want us to behave.

Olshey made another comment that astounded me: “Guys’ value is based on what they bring to the team, and I can assure you Nicolas will absolutely live up to this contract.”

How can Olshey be so sure?

To merit such a contract, Batum will at least have to be a strong No. 2 guy on a perennial playoff team, perhaps on a championship contender. I’m not saying he can’t get to that point, but I wouldn’t bet the owner’s yacht on it, as Olshey seems to be doing.

Olshey made it clear expectations have risen considerably on Batum.

“What matters is, Nicolas accepts responsibility that he’s going to be held to a higher standard now,” Olshey said. “He’s in a leadership position. He is one of the higher-paid players in the league at his position. I know he wants to embrace that and have a bigger role on the team on a daily basis.

“When a new coach is hired and a new system is in, he’ll have more opportunity to live up to his contractual obligations based on the responsibilities he’ll take within our roster composition.”

I agree with one stipulation by Olshey, that “the Portland fan base should in no way resent Nicolas Batum for this.”

Batum may get a few boos before the first preseason game, but the vast majority of Blazer backers will be glad he remains in Portland.

Batum, too, is a professional who will play his heart out for the team that has made him a very rich young man.

I would use “rest assured.” But something tells me not to.

http://portlandtribune.com/pt-rss/1...lshey,-kahn-clash-on-remarks-from-batums-camp

 

Meh...

Winner gets to write the history.

Batum and Olshey won, they're the ones who get to spin the story anyway they want.

 

That's a bullshit quote from Olshey. A player's salary (and the team's salary structure) is part of the NBA nowadays... it is definitely news and shows a sophistication on the part of the NBA fans that wasn't really around a decade or two ago.

For a GM to pooh-pooh it and/or treat it like it's none of anyone's business strikes me as wrong-headed.

Ed O.

 

im gonna trust the man who sent in an offer sheet to the league only to have it invalidated because he fucked up. Yep, thats the guy Im gonna believe

 

Ooh no, someone gave spoilers to a movie!

oh whatever will we do!

We sure got shown what is what!

idiot.