Do you believe he deserves fair market value? If you do then how would you compare him to Aaron Aflflalo? I think they are similar stats wise and he is younger. Afflalo got 5yr 43mil which 8.6 mil/yr.
Yes, for his current production I'm sure you can, but the point of paying more is that you're paying for potential. Do you want the Blazers to offer Oden a contract after this season? If yes, anything you offer is paying for production. So ask yourself, is it a better deal to overpay Nic by 1-2 million per year....or Oden for 5-6 or whatever you're going to give him (And which is sure to be over 1-2 million)? Aside from the bench mob (who are basically useless right now), Nic is the only player on the team with significant room for growth.
If we keep lowballing him, I'm sure we'll find out how hard it is to get a FA like Batum in 5 years when his contract with another team is finally up. Pay the man; we're fucked anyway... might as well keep the players I like!
Now that you put it that way LOL! Okay I can see the justification now. Oden 5-6 mil for 0 production, 1-2 more mil for Batum for his current production + possible production.
The reason you pay Oden is because he has shown when healthy that he is a difference maker. His PER in in the mid 20's. Batum has a career high PER in the 17's
Ya, but there's so much uncertainty with Greg, and if he can ever sustain that level of play. There's way too much risk involved with giving him a big deal. Nic, you know better what you are getting (sort of, if Nate ever trusts him to play 30mpg).
Yes Batum is a "role player". Why is that a bad thing? He is not an all-star max player. He isn't likely to be the No. 2 on a contending team. But he clearly IMO is capable of being the No. 3, and is more importantly just the kind of "role player" every contender needs to have. I do not believe Batum's combination of skills is easily replaceable in one player. Give him $8 mil per for 4 years...more if you have to. I would give up every other player on the team, and the coaches, to get a starting core of D-Will, LaMarcus, and Batum. With Rhino and Oden coming off the bench, of course.
You know, I don't think we can underestimate how big of a favor Roy did Portland by retiring. The fact that were even talking about paying Nic 8-9 million per year.....there's no chance that would have gone down with Roy's contract on the books. I know we could have still amnestied him, but I just can't see PA and the rest of the front office okaying that move without knowing that Roy was done. Game 4 was special, but Roy's last decision really improved the outlook of this team for the future. I miss Roy...
Above average for a starter... a good 3rd piece. And currently more efficient than Wallace this season. BTW, if we started our 5 most efficient players, we'd have LMA at center, Craig Smith at PF, Wallace at SF, Batum at SG, and Crawford at PG... I'd watch that lineup... and pray for Crawford to go down with a hangnail injury so that we get Felton in. We really need a PG.
It's a huge issue. You can really see why teams have given up on Felton. He has game, but he is a dumbass with the ball in crunch time. Crawford just plain sucks, and what little offensive flow we have goes out the window with him in the game
You might think I'm crazy, but I love that line-up; with the exception of Crawford starting. But I actually could live with Crawford starting if we could put that line-up on the floor. Craig looks good. I mean Really good. I don't know if anyone else was paying attention; but loves to bang and has great footwork. He is definitly able to demand doubles if he keeps this up. Having Craig and Aldridge on the floor would be Beast, IMO. Then you have Wallace wing to Craig and Batum wing to Aldridge and you got some madness going on! Then crawchuck at the top isn't a bad thing.
Exactly, if you look at most of the recently really good or championship they usually have this type of player.
Fuck Crawford as the starting point guard ... I'm not exactly sold on Felton long-term, but watching him play as a reserve is maddening enough. Look, I like Craig Smith just fine as a 20 minutes reserve (and I even said when they signed him that he'd end up this team's best off-season acquisition) but he is not and never will be the kind of guy that other teams will commit a double-team to; he has some pretty serious limitations as a full-time starter (on a good team). Don't get me wrong, if the Blazers can ever fill in the holes in the rest of their roster I'd love to keep him as LA's primary backup, but c'mon.
Here's the latest Batum news from Chris Haynes: "Batum says his agent will meet 2nite & 2morrow morn. Blazers have until Jan. 25 2 reach extension. If not,becomes restricted FA at seas end."
After that performance I'd wait till season is over. Hes not that good IMO. In fact at this point they should trade him and felton for a real PG and resign wallace. Batum stinks.
He was resting on the court. He'll show up tomorrow while Wallace rests on the court. That said, the Blazers may have just been given a 10% off coupon tonight.
