Then Houston would send Asik, Parson and motiejunas to Atlanta for Al Hordford Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
There is a reson San Antonio drools over batum and its not because he's parkers buddy. The kid straight balls, if he had lebrons strength and explosiveness they'd be the same player. He is basically LeBron but with less power and more finesse. I just don't think you can get rid of him, you need a guy that can adjust his game based on team needs, and he does it without selfish attitude. He's finally learning to dribble, drive, and even post up. No, I can't let him go for anything short of LeBron. Or at least a formidable replacement + someone that is a major upgrade to another position.
Lebron has a ton of Finesse, and also isn't selfish, at least in terms of stats. It's Lebron >>>> Batum. And I LOVE Batum, but he's not close to Lebron. They ARE in some stats, some times, but there's that "it" factor that Batum is still trying to find, IMO.
Along with having a true rim protecting Big & a healthy Wes, Nic's improvement as a playmaker has been a true key to the team's early hot start. Having two off the dribble threats makes them so much harder to defend and allows them to play their exciting/attacking style. Remove Batum from the lineup and teams will trap the heck out of Lillard like they did last year. I don't see Wright as being able to duplicate this... only a few elite SFs can. No doubt that Horford is a stud though STOMP
The big reason why I don't want to trade Batum is that he runs the offense a lot while he is on the floor, his ability to set teammates up in the place they are comfortable with the ball at is uncanny and his chemistry with the team is something that would be hard to replicate. Wright isn't going to be able to replicate what Batum does except for the shooting part of it. Horford is a great player (some have argued he is better then LMA) but he is more a PF then a center and has had to play C out the fact Atlanta hasn't had a starting center since they got him.
The only player who can replicate a lot of Batum's qualities is Evan Turner who by the way, believes he won't be staying with Philly. I would love to acquire that guy with or without Nic on this team. He's playing great right now.
