Simple question, Nic is known as a good defender against PG's, SG's and SF's and has great length. Wes has relatively poor handles, so does Nic. Wes shot the 3 better this yr, Nic shot the 3 better last year. Was wondering if we could get as much or more value trading Wes and then could Nic steps in at SG and he'd still be able to backup Wallace at SF. We also still have Brandon and Rudy to sort out and E Williams healthy this upcoming year. Thoughts?
This forum has a fascination with playing players out of position. Amazing, really. It's nice the Blazers have a lot of versatile players, but they still have distinct positions that they should be playing most of the time.
Maybe we can send him to Camp Drexler this summer, http://www.nba.com/rockets/community/upcoming_2010_summer_camps_2010_06_02.html
He could probably play it fairly well but why oh why do we try and turn players into something they are not? Batum is a SF not a SG nor a PF. But as for Wes having high trade value, we paid the big year of his contract this year so there might be some takers. As for us actually trading him, I doubt management is gonna trade the player they refused to put into the second unit when our superstar came back from injury.
You state this like it is a fact just because that is what he is listed as. But what about his game makes him a SF and not a SG of the same level as Wes?
Matthews handles aren't great, but they're still miles above Batum's. Nic even has trouble driving into open lanes. Defensively, Nic gets beat more by quicker guards. He'll see more of those if he moves to SG full time.
I am not sure which one has the better handles, but there certainly isn't miles of difference. Probably Wes by tad. However, Nic is better on quick guards IMO. He is the better defender all around. Wes is good for his time in the league, but Batum is simply better. What Wes has is he plays all out every play, and that is Nic's weakness.
I'd take Wes over Nic any day. Wesley's handles might be a little bit better, but what sets them apart is that Wes finishes better. He uses his broad shoulders and finishes with strength. Nic is not good at driving at all.
That reminds me, I have a good idea. When Oden comes back, we should have him play PG in order to keep his knees from getting damaged down around the basket. Patty seems pretty indestructible, he can trade places with Greg. barfo
Actually, given the way this team defends the high pick and roll (switch EVERY time), that almost makes sense. BNM
We should start with our center guarding their PG and our PG guarding their center. That way when the pick and roll happens, they're switched to their correct man! It is sad, but we defended the P & R so badly against Dallas, that thought actually entered my head... How we did not adjust at all (or even try) is a problem I do have with our coaching.
Though I understand the desire to get Nic more playing time......it won't work this way as a starter. He may be able to pull off playing a few minutes at b/u SG and SF but not full time against the leagues best. Doesn't dribble well enough, doesn't create his own shot like most SG's, though he would be fine on D.
This is one of Nic's biggest weaknesses, lack of aggression on offense. Maybe its something he'll never learn. I think he would be an acceptable starter, and considering Wes was a below average starting SG the team may not lose much production out of the starting unit. Wes sometimes looks like a black hole and takes a few poor shots but he can take the ball to the rim or get a shot off very quickly. Wes often looks to score. We desperately needed someone to generate some of those attempts last season. Nic basically only shoots if there is a double team and he is left wide ass open for the kick out.
I think this question got unfairly shot down FAR too quickly. This question, to me, is a question of what was vs. what should be? What WAS - last year - was Wesley playing like he thought he was Joe Johnson with the basketball (it takes roughly 12 seconds of watching tape to realize that he is decidedly NOT Joe Johnson with the basketball), and another year of Nicolas playing like a bashful young buck - capable of tremendous explosion, power, and destruction, but still not trusting his abilities and lacking the confidence to really decide to get his. They're very much polar opposites in that regard I think - one tried to do far too much, one not enough. Outside of that, they're both disruptive defenders, capable rebounders and good enough outside shooters to give them the green light. What SHOULD be - with both of them - is a "no playmaking" policy. Sounds harsh, and probably is, but Matthews gets us into serious trouble when he tries to run fast breaks, make tight passes, or otherwise attempt to be more than he is - a spot up shooter. Nic, on the other hand, shows flashes of brilliance, coupled with frustrating issues due either to lack of ability or confidence, or both. To me, the question was should these guys be interchangeable in the lineup, perhaps giving a slight nod to Nic due to his length? My answer to this, in a perfect world, is yes. Essentially, both should be spot-up shooters, on the court simply to stretch the D. Having Nic start at the 2 would allow Wallace to play his aggressive D on the opposing team's top wing scorer with less fear of foul trouble, because Nic could easily move over to guarding that guy, already warm. Additionally, starting could very well work better w/ Batum's more passive style of play, allowing him to defer to LA, Miller and Wallace, being a great role player on the starting unit and forcing us to rely on him as a consistent scorer off the bench every night, and, similarly, would allow Wes to come off the bench and BE that scorer. No more passing or initiating the offense for Wes! He could come in as a scorer and focus solely on that. I like this idea in fact. Most scoring guards not named Kobe or Lebron like to get hot early. Batum and Wallace in the starting lineup allows us to keep our worst defender on the floor - Miller - on the opposing team's 3rd best guard/wing option, and our 2 most disruptive defenders, Wallace and Batum on their better scoring options. As for the question of value in a trade, I still would bet that Nic holds more value, but I'm certainly not opposed to moving either in the right deal, and feel like - if used properly - Batum could EASILY fit our needs as a starting "2".
