Blazers' Nicolas Batum soap opera comes to an end

LAS VEGAS -- In another life, Neil Olshey was an actor on "All My Children," so it seems only fitting that one of his first major moves as Trail Blazers' general manager would require him to take a starring role in one of the franchise's biggest soap operas in recent memory.

Olshey backed up his weeks-long pledge to retain Nicolas Batum on Wednesday, matching a four-year free agent offer sheet from the Minnesota Timberwolves to end a dramatic and sometimes acrimonious negotiation process. Contract details were not released, but Olshey said the value of the deal is less than the $45-50 million figure that has circulated in published reports.

Batum arrived in Portland on Wednesday from Europe and is expected to take a physical and sign his contract Thursday, solidifying the Blazers' starting small forward position and cementing Batum's status as a cornerstone piece of a rebuilding franchise.

"I'm happy about it," Batum said. "I knew I was going to be back here."

Perhaps, but Batum's return to Portland was anything but smooth. After the Timberwolves wined and dined him for three days in Minneapolis after free agency opened July 1, Batum and his agent, Bouna Ndiaye, revealed publicly that the 23-year-old from France was smitten with Minnesota.

On multiple occasions, Batum and Ndiaye said Batum longed to play with point guard Ricky Rubio and under coach Rick Adelman and had decided that it would be best for him to follow his "heart" and join the Blazers' Northwest Division rivals. All the while, Timberwolves executives tried to strong-arm the Blazers into agreeing to a sign-and-trade package that would ship Batum to Minnesota and avoid having the seemingly disgruntled Batum land in Portland.

In an effort to inflate the offer sheet, Minnesota general manager David Kahn even attached some bonuses that were disallowed by the NBA office.

But behind the scenes, Batum evidently was telling the Blazers a different story throughout all the drama. Olshey said he had daily communication with Batum after the sides met for lunch in Portland on July 5, and Batum never wavered on his commitment to the Blazers. Olshey never once contemplated letting Batum go.

"He's always expressed his desire to come back to Portland," Olshey said. "His agent did what he needed to do, which was get the best possible deal for his client. He feels like he did that. And Nicolas got his deal, we got our player back and we'll move on."

The way Olshey tells it, Batum's love affair with Minnesota was one big song and dance scripted by the Timberwolves and Ndiaye.

"Let's be very clear," Olshey said. "Nic made a couple of comments at the behest of the Minnesota Timberwolves and his agent. That was their agenda. It was never Nicolas' agenda. If I wasn't in constant contact with the kid, I would tell you that. I can tell you that Nicolas called me after those articles went out and said, 'Look, they asked me to do this, they put me up to it. It's not me.' He always wanted to be back in Portland."

Maybe. It also could be the beginning stages of an effort to repair Batum's image, which no doubt has taken a hit in Portland as a result of his free agent antics. Regardless, the saga is over and Batum will face a different kind of scrutiny.

Now he has to justify the lofty contract and status as a franchise cornerstone. He will be the Blazers' second-highest paid player behind All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge and one of the highest paid small forwards in the NBA and fans will expect more than the 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists he averaged last season.

There is little doubt that Batum's career is on the upswing. His across-the-board skill-set and potential always have been his best asset. But now that he's entered a new income bracket, the expectation will be for his potential to morph into reality.

"It doesn't matter what the contract is today," Olshey said. "What matters is that Nicolas accepts responsibility that he's going to be held to a higher standard now. He's in a leadership position, he's one of the higher paid players in his league at his position. And I know he wants to embrace that and have a bigger role on the team on a daily basis.

"Can he live up to the value of the contract? We think he can."

Olshey said he believes the 6-foot-8 Batum will flourish under the tutelage of a new coach and a new system. He also meshes nicely in age and upward trajectory to a Blazers' core that includes Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, rookie draft picks Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard and other second- and third-year players.

The past 18 days have featured an episode's worth of soap opera plot lines. But at long last, it's time for the closing credits.

"The decision was made a long time ago -- we were never not going to have Nicolas back," Olshey said.

--Joe Freeman
twitter.com/blazerfreeman

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Dwight got so played in all of this.

 

Someone more creative than myself needs to write a script depicting what would happen if real relationships worked like restricted free agency. Starring:

• Chip, the skinny, average-looking guy who far out-kicked his coverage (Indiana)
• Brooke, Chip's gorgeous girlfriend who is way out of his league, and knows it (Hibbert)
• Thad, the wealthy playboy who thinks he should be able to have his cake and eat it too (Portland)
• Denise, Thad's long-time arm candy who feels neglected and wants a deeper relationship (Batum)
• Kyle, the sensitive poet who woos Denise with his words, trying to pry her from Thad's side (Minnesota)