Due to a hard salary cap the team can only keep one of them. The other must be cut. Who would you keep?
Cut? That makes no sense, but if that is my only option I choose cutting Batum. Good role playing wings are by far the easiest position to fill in the NBA
Cut Brandon with an amnesty deal... http://www.blazersedge.com/2011/6/27/2245996/t-darkstars-boring-evening-inflicted-on-you
Batum; I don't believe Oden will last very long. Very dense bones tear normally dense ligaments more quickly.
I like both, but you have to go Oden here.... He still is only 23, several players have come back from microfracture and come back very well, and finding a SF is much easier than a center (let alone a potential franchise center)....
I can see and almost agree with the argument for Oden, but I'm not envisioning many more years for Greg in the league ... It's Batum by a hair(line fracture).
This team has one realistic chance of winning a championship in the near future - and that's Oden staying healthy to do what he has the talent to do. You have to take that risk - and I love Nico.
I'll side with non-Blazer fans who unanimously see it objectively. Let Oden go. Actually, if the rules changed, we would quickly trade Batum and keep the untradeable Oden.
Batum is no star, but he has proved he can be a useful NBA player. By a 7-1 margin, voters in this poll are saying they believe Oden can be more than that. This is why I reject optimism as being counter Darwinian. With a hard cap, there will be no room on the roster for charity cases. Produce or perish.
Batum will have greater impact and greater trade value a year from now. History tells us this to be true. With that said, if I hear that they come to market with a French version of Dance Dance Revolution.....I would quickly change my choice (Oden over Batum) before learning Batum has ran out to buy a copy!