Batun's extension and minutes - very interesting

Send Nick, Camby and Felton for J Wall or D Williams and all is good!

 

I wonder what a slightly more bulked-up Batum might yield?

 

Well that just sums it up. Guess he needs to be traded.

 

Don't know about J Wall man. He's got the skills to be a great PG, but does he have the mental toughness to lead and run an offense?

 

The Spurs writer believes SAS would be interested in getting Batum.

 

LOL, your going to let a media hound sum it up for you?

How bout some perspective please:

Thank You.

 

Maybe it should of been green?

 

haha yea... Batum is here to stay.

 

I wasn't being sarcastic, but a good save on my part nonetheless

 

If Blazers do not extend Batum, this summer the Blazers will have to make huge decisions on Wallace, Batum and Felton. I'm guessing all will get interest from other teams.

 

When did we ever see him given the opportunity? He was never asked to play that role in the NBA - and quite frankly, just as we have seen with Aldridge - you actually need to give that guy that role to see if he can fit it before you announce him unable.

 

He started for 40+ games last season; didn't he?

 

Batum will never be the man with Aldridge here, so why does this matter?

 

Was he asked to be the man on any of these games? Was he even asked to be the #1 perimeter guy in any of these games? Last year we had Roy, Andre and Wes being the focal point of the offense from the perimeter before him, this year we replaced Andre with Gelton and even off the bench - we got Jamal to chuck shots.

What we have seen from Batum was that when given his own team in the Europleage - he actually won player of the week twice in about 8 weeks of play... and there are some pretty good players playing there, many of them much more established than him.

I do not know if he can or can not - but making ones mind that he can not when he is never actually given the chance to do it - when he is obviously capable of scoring in bunches in this league, even in secondary or 3rd option roles - just does not make sense.

 

Why not let him be the man on the preimeter, or at least see if he can?

 

We've never given Babbit an opportunity either. He can average 30ppg in college and D league, maybe he can be a great scorer if the team will just let him get comfortable with regular minutes on the court.

We don't know what will actually happen until the team tries dangit.

 

The difference of course is that Batum is an athletic freak even by most NBA players comparison - with his speed, length and control. Babbit very much not so...

One of them has the tools and have shown to be able to super-efficient at the NBA level as a 4th or 5th option on offense. The other, not so much.

for the 2nd unit, I would like to see a lot more Batum Shakalaka than Jamal Chuckalaka for example... - We have seen Batum, as a 2nd year player coming off injury getting a post-player like TS% of 0.65 - which is mind boggling good for a perimeter player. Sure, it was only for 37 games - but this kid has all the physical talent to be an amazing player - and he is not a dumb chucker or headcase. This team needs to really feature him more to see if he can really take the next step - because if he can - this team can be super hard to deal with for years to come.

 

Comparing Aldridge and Batum's careers is laughable. Since Aldridge first got healthy and regular minutes in his second season he has always been the best or second best player on the team. Yes his role expanded when our #1 option left, and he improved dramatically, but he was never in the realm of averaging 8ppg during a playoff series with Steve Nash guarding him.

Batum has never been the second best player on this team for any extended stretch of play. He has been a valuable role player, but not much more. Role players are not handed bigger roles, they earn them. Gerald came off the bench for many games until he proved he was the second best player on this team. When he became that valuable he forced the team to start him because he was so damn good on the court. Batum hasn't ever played at a high enough level to force the coaches to expand his role.

 

There's a point in there, but part of his minuscule production offensively in that series is that Nate never schemed to take advantage of that mismatch.

 

I have seen strides from him this season. He has been more aggressive coming off screens and shooting. In the past Nic would just set up shop in the corners and bomb threes. Now he's actually moving without the ball. I'm still not sure if he's really a legit second or first option on offense, but he has intangibles that teams want. I just don't know if I want to see the team sink a long term, semi-large contract into the guy. I think I'd be more inclined to put the money into a known commodity like Wallace, even if he only has two or three more good years left in him.