Minnesota wants Batum @ 11.25M a year

Then don't match? Seriously, what the fuck is Paul Allen's problem. He's like "how dare anyone try to gain a competitive advantage" Like that asinine letter the team sent out regarding Darius Miles. He makes himself, the franchise and the city of Portland look like fools with this kind of BS

 

For me it's simple, if we don't get Hibbert I would rather let Nic go for a sign and trade for Derrick Williams and Webs or Ridnour. Basically no Hibbert is a rebuild and we may as well gather assets as opposed to paying Nic 11 mil minimum. However my only concern is whether we can still do a sign and trade after Hibbert was matched my Indiana? Would that remain viable?

 

Me too. I'd rather let Batum walk anyway. BATUM IS A ROLE PLAYER. IMO, bad franchises give role players 11 million dollars a year (See Minnesota) Especially if Batum isn't 100% committed to being a Trail Blazer. I don't want to confuse that with not wanting to be here.

 

Quality useless trivia

Jerry Zgoda ‏@JerryZgoda
Do you know what July 14 -- day Blazers must decide whether to match Batum -- is? Bastille Day, French celebration of independence

 

here's an article on the retool/rebuild scenario

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/47188/portlands-two-pronged-approach

 

Dude, you are late twice on this one

 

LOL, got distracted watchin the federer Djokovic match - GO FED!

 

I think we can all agree with these statements:

"Ndiaye said Batum felt stifled in Portland's system, and wanted to spend less time standing in the corner and shooting 3-pointers, and more time breaking down defenders off the dribble and getting to the rim"

"Nicolas expressed this during his meeting with the Blazers," Ndiaye said. "He was never himself. He has mentioned this in the meeting. He said, 'I just want to be me. I don't want to stand in the corner. I'm a player with movement. I was locked up in the corner.' So he has expressed that for sure."

The question I have is why did everyone else on the team think they had the opportunity to break down their defender (and tried without a lot of success) and Nic didn't?

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8...batum-verbal-agreement-minnesota-timberwolves

 

Is this real? If so, everyone needs to apologize to me

 

Uhmm, dunno. Maybe Nic, being French and all, is under the misimpression that you have to do what your coach tells you to do?

 

Don't know if I buy that. Aggressive players take it to the hoop. Portland needed someone last year that could take their man off the dribble and Nic was our starting SG towards the end of the year, and we still didn't see much aggression. It's probably just a lie his agent came up with to say to make it seem as though Nic is actually going to be worth 11 mil per year if he just gets in a less restrictive system.

 

It is easy to understand how Rubio and Adelman are a major influence in selling Minny to Nic.

I agree with Portland in waiting until they know their team before selecting the coach, but I can see how the uncertainty would effect Nic.

So I would match and get a good coach. Simple

 

Well now I want him to come back so he can show us what Nic Batum looks like when he is trying to break down his defender and slashing to the hoop.

 

This was exactly my reaction

 

Nic always seemed to have a bit of a hero-worship thing with Brandon Roy. Roy going to the Wolves probably didn't hurt Nic's desire to play there.

 

Agents say what they have to, to get their clients (themselves) paid. He's working hard to gain leverage in a situation where the Blazers have far more than he does. Notice, these aren't things you're seeing Batum say directly.

If Batum does feel this way, with a new coach, a new point guard, and the potential for Batum to play SG instead of SF, there are ample opportunities for Batum's role in Portland to change. Oh, and the Blazers can pay Batum more than anyone else.

This is posturing... but in the end, it will get Batum and his agent paid. Mission accomplished.

 

Well, not everyone. It's always good to have one's own judgements validated. I've been bitching about how Nate used the SF position since Martell was asked to do the same thing, and people couldn't figure out why he didn't shoot better ice cold and without any kind of rhythm. Then comes Batum, with an obvious skill set and court awareness that has been obviously misused. Even if Ndiaye didn't say this, it's still true. If Nico stays, I want to see the Nico that plays for the French team. Especially for what he's about to get paid.

 

It's seems true Batum isn't naturally aggressive or assertive. He isn't going to stage a coup. He's not going to put himself above the team. It's going to be up to his coach to put him in a role that maximizes his effectiveness. I understand we need some killers on this team, but we need some quality role players too. Thanks to Kahn Nico is about to be a marginally overpaid third banana. I can live with that.

 

If he really doesn't want to be here, I'd rather sign-and-trade him than match and bring him back. Nobody wants a pouty Frenchman.