Batum will sign first lucrative offer sheet

Let him go be the franchise player for the Craptors if they want to pay him 11 million a year.

 

Actually, we could work out some sort of sign and trade, right?

Surely one of these teams would give up something interesting for him.

 

Out of those teams, though, a quick big offer for most seems unrealistic. Boston would have to waive their rights to both Garnett and Allen, because of their cap holds, to sign Batum to an offer. N.O., I believe, would have to waive their rights to Kaman and Gordon. PHX, their rights to Nash. BKN, their rights to Lopez, Deron, Wallace. Not all, but a combo of them.

 

Arent the hornets going to amnesty emeka okafor?

 

Batum's agent does seem ticked at Blazers management. I think Allen knew he'd have to pay Nico a couple of extra million per by waiting to match in the off season. I think it's a price he's willing to pay if it means he can add more players, then resign Nico. It's a good plan, unless Nico's agent monkey wrenches the implementation. Resigning Nico without first adding a couple of starters is not good enough, and is not likely to be a successful rebuild/retool. Adding a couple of free agents but losing Nico is also not good enough. Nico's agent is pissing in my cereal.

 

Oh well if he goes. You can sign matt barnes or dahntay jones as a stopgap at a third or fourth of the cost. Swingmen are easier to grab. I bet the warriors would trade dorell wright for our second rounders, and he costs a little under four million.

 

Why would this agent go out of his way to fuck up our off season plans......makes no sense.

 

He is also the agent for Evan Fournier....

Obviously he is A) a dick B) pissed at POR mgmt for some slight

 

because he doesn't care about the blazers, he doesn't work for the blazers. he works for batum and wants to get batum the most money he can.

 

It's not his job to put this Blazer's plans first. He's got look out for Batum since this could be his biggest payday of his career.

 

Makes sense...... but somebody needs to sit Nic down and tell him can still get his money AND be on a better team if he waits.

 

This agent was PIIIIIIIIIIISED when the Blazers didn't extend Batum. He didn't hide his feelings one bit and after the deadline, basicly said (paraphrased, reading between the lines), "fuck the Blazers, I won't do them any favors and if I get the chance I will screw them hard."

At the time I thought he would calm down a bit by the summer. Apparently not.

At the time I posted that I thought the true motivation behind this is the agent really, really, really wanted his commission yesterday. Dude probably needed money.

I think it is cute that you think the agent is looking after the best interests of Batum.

This is the agents priority:

1) Agent
2) looking good for the client
3) actually doing good for the client

 

If he was doing the best thing for his client he would wait around a little bit instead of signing the first offer sheet that comes to him. Once DWill/Gordan/Hibbert are figured out Batum would be the next big money player around and teams that missed on those guys would throw there cap at him.

 

Sad but true fact around this league.

 

Good point. Repped!

 

Cynical point and irrelevant. Worthy of a negative rep if the board allowed it.

The guys the Blazers have been targeting for GM interviews are under contract and the Blazers have had to wait until the end of the season for their former teams to be willing to grant the Blazers the right to interview them.

 

this is probably more realistic. good call!

 

Nic's agent is playing it smart and doing his job. He's supposed to get Nic the best deal he can. Teams are only going to be willing to offer a front-loaded contract when there's the chance that it will screw with the Blazers' cap space. They aren't going to give Nic the chance to sit around while the Blazers make other moves on the FA market. They're going to offer a front-loaded deal and tell Nic he's got a certain period of time to sign it or they're moving on to another player. The Blazers aren't going to give him a front-loaded deal out of the goodness of their hearts either. They're only going to do it when they're pressed into it by another offer.

 

If there is a weak market for SF this off-season, he might get more room to wait and decide.

 

"I'm not going to shop around. I'm going to take the first offer I get." Does not sound like a good bargaining strategy to me. I don't see how this helps Nico's wallet or his career.