Only six SFs averaged more than 35 mpg last season. Nic was 14th in mpg among SF starters. What's your point?
That's what I was thinking. Wallace averaged 35.8 mpg last season, but once Wallace left, Nic's mpg were ~34 mpg for the rest of the season, and his PER increased over the last 18 games. His mpg don't really matter, though, because he's 23 years old, is Top 8 in PER for SFs, has averaged 31 mpg the past two seasons, and is going to get a decent offer from someone.
Nic's PER/USG ratio is as close to 1:1 as you'll find of any SF with over 30 mpg with a similar (or lower) PER. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/holl...llinger/statistics?position=sf&sort=usageRate It's unsurprising to me that the player closest to him, at around his Usage Rate, is Iguadola. The trend seems to have flipped from overvaluing players to severely undervaluing them, at least in terms of Batum. The nonsense yesterday about him being the "most overrated" Blazer in history is just silly.
Not sure exactly, but as I remember it, his PER was ~16 at the trade deadline, and he ended up the season over 17 after taking over for Wallace. Purely anecdotal, though, and his usage may have increased as well.