It's totally going to happen, this trade it is. SlyPokerDog is a looser! Don't startz to bringz fax intwo this shredder!
Hinrich is old and gets lit up regularly. Deng got switched onto Hinrich's man much of the time. Deng certainly drew the toughest assignment among the wings.
Because people love to talk about a trade rumor. How do you think sites like Hoopshype, Hoopsworld. ESPN Insider, and RealGM got started?
Moreover, the Bulls have been better without him. Nic is younger, under contract for longer, has a higher ceiling. I'll pass.
Hell, I think Nic is better for our team now than Deng could be. Nic is possibly our best play maker. And he's our best defender against PGs-- this will be invaluable in the playoffs when we will be matched up against guys like Dragic/Curry/Paul/ Parker/Westbrook/Conley. Deng is a good man-man defender but he cannot keep up with quick guards like Nic can. Ya he gets boneheaded turnovers, but I like that he looks to get others involved. Haven't we all seen how much the team struggles when he does? He's damn near irreplaceable.
If Batum and Deng switched places and Deng was a Blazers and Batum was a Bulls this conversation would be flipped. People would still be saying that this is a bad deal for the Blazers.
How many times do you have to read the stat before you realize that Matthews is a better 3/4th offensive option on this team let alone in the NBA. Last I checked Ibaka, Parsons, Bosh, Jamal Crawford, Thompson or Lee depending on whether your considering FGA's or not and those are just a couple people off the top of my head are better. Batum might be a good 4th option but that is what he is a 4th option.
Batum is the cog that runs the engine. Matthews is the cannon. Doesn't make one more important than the other.
Batum does not run the offense, why do people keep saying that shit? The Blazers pass it around a lot, and no one person runs the offense, though he occasionally will run a pick and roll. I swear, some of you talk about him like he's Magic Johnson out there, dishing out passes for easy buckets. He's a turnover machine...he's averaged over 4 turnovers a game the last 5 games. Batum is an opportunistic scorer who shoots the open jumper, and occasionally gets a wide open lane to the rim or a put back. He's only shooting 34% from 3 this year, which is barely adequate for a spot up shooter. He ranks 81st in the NBA among qualifying players. He's a solid starter, but certainly not worth 8 digits.
The way I see it, Batum and Deng are pretty comparable players. Deng's a few years older, so that's a negative on him. He costs $3 million a year more and he's going to be looking for a new contract that costs more than the Blazers are paying Nic. He's got more playoff experience than Nic, which is a plus, and he's a bit more aggressive about getting his shots. I guess I just don't see enough advantage to Deng to be worth risking upsetting the chemistry and committing more money to paying him.
A few more million than Nic would be a max contract, and I really doubt anyone is going to pay Deng the max. We could pretty easily re-sign him for what Nic is making now.
the salary is what kills me with Deng. I like his game more than Nics but he wants something near the max from what I understand and he is turning down offers near Nics salary level. He is somewhere in the 11-12 range but he seems to want more
