ANYONE advocating for somehow drafting Sabonis' son while simultaneously admonishing Batum is a hypocrite too.
McCollum is a great dribbler, which Batum, Matthews, and Crabbe are not. Of course he sometimes catches and shoots, but he doesn't have to, like the others. We improved by replacing Batum with McCollum as our #2 playmaker, and could not have done so had Batum stayed and continuing demanding being the #2.
Until Sabonis has suffered injuries in international play that affected his ability to play for the team by which he is compensated, this statement is premature.
When McCollum dribbles, his defender must defend against both his shot and pass. When Batum dribbles out there looking to pass, his defender must look only for the pass. And the pass is less likely to succeed, since McCollum can dribble right into the action while Batum must pass in from a distance or he'll clumsily lose the ball. Last season, Lillard would look frustrated as Batum would bring it downcourt, half-speed because he had to bend over to his knees to avoid the steal, missing possibilities that Lillard beckoned to him were opening and closing, then finally tossing it to a real playmaker out at the 3-point line with most of the 24 seconds used up. Other than Magic and LeBron, there just haven't been many really good dribbling playmakers at 6 foot 9.
The style of play totally opened up with a new SF as a starter. I've seen plenty of the Hornets on League Pass this year and Batum is the same guy that totally frustrated Blazer fans. Passes up wide open shots and pulls the ball back on the break.
Two things we ALL wish Aminu did - LOL! (Also, I think the "style of play totally opened up" because we no longer have a ball-dominant, jump-shooting PF who required being the leading shot-taker on the team, not because we changed from a Rich Man's Batum to a Poor Man's Batum.)
Check it out before it changes! In the last 10 games for 3FG%, we have #1 Vonleh, #49 McCollum, and #92 Aminu. http://bkref.com/tiny/aici2 minimum 22 made http://bkref.com/tiny/wmKaq
my gut reaction at the time of the trade was not good, but I consoled myself on the potential of adding a lotto front court player. Unfortunately Vonleh has proven to be a major project on offense, so any long term gain (where he's better then say Ed Davis) is many years away. Well before that happens his contract will be up and he either will walk via FA or Portland will have to pay the market rate that posters are complaining about. Add Batum to this roster and Portland would have home court advantage in round 1 and I'd be a hell of a lot more enthusiastic about their overall chances. STOMP
Nic is the reason the Hornets are so much worse this year compared to last right? Well having Al Jefferson out most of the season hasn't helped either, but Batum and his balanced all around game is the real culprit here right? STOMP
Right, but the point of contention is whether Aminu has filled the vacancy. So even though Aminu wasn't part of the trade, we don't need Nic, because we have Aminu at a much cheaper salary, so the trade was good. We basically got Vonleh and Henderson for free. If he played for Taiwan I would still think it were wrong. Not knocking him. I think what he did was wrong is all. Not the first time, but to continually do it when it was visibly affecting his regular season. I'm in the minority on this and that's fine. I think he was wrong to continue to do it when he signed a contract with us. If it didn't have affects on his NBA season, then Id say do it every year, but that wasn't the case... at all...
I honestly don't really think you are in the minority on that. The effect it had on his game cost him his career here in Portland no question. Like i said above, If he was playing for the US then his minutes and the load he was carrying might not have been so great. But playing as a leader on a much less deep French national team that also competes every year in the Euro Championships is the back breaker. I certainly would not tell him to skip National play but for the Blazers to be the ones paying for it was too much in my book also.
