OT Nic Batum quote on Charlotte: "First time I got to play like I want to in eight years in the NBA."

Batum enjoying another first round exit. Some bad GM will throw a huge contract at him and hope after 8 seasons he'll actually find a way to create his own shot.

 

I think it's total BS. Maybe under Nate, but Terry gave him carte blanche.

If he really thinks he needed to be told that he was one of our top two players, A) he was never one of our top two most talented players, and B) he's no different than LaMarsha.

 

Nic has no obligation to praise Portland, but Terry gave him every opportunity to shine here.

I have no hard feelings towards Nic, he's just being politically correct.

 

Yeah, the first 4 years under Nate he was seriously under utilized (Nic, go stand in the corner and only shoot if you are wide open, don't try to do anything else). But, he started to flourish under Stotts with a much more active role as a distributor and ball handler.

It's true, his scoring, assists and FGA were all career highs this season, but I think the biggest difference is he was moved to SG. Different team, different position, different role. Still, other than last year, when he was playing injured and quite frankly sucked, his numbers in CHO this year we're THAT much of an increase over his first two years under Stotts. The real transition was from Nate to Stotts, not from Stotts to Clifford. With Brandon Roy and then Wesley Matthews, it's not like Nic was going to ever be a starting SG in POR. CHO was a good fit for him. He finally got to play SG and had a decent season in a contract year. Good for him. Bad for whoever signs him to his next ridiculous contract.

BNM

 

Fwiw, he got hurt again this year in a crucial stretch and missed time in the playoffs. Directly led to yet another first round loss.

Love Nic, but buyer beware.

 

Didn't they play better without him? I didn't watch any of the games but I thought I heard they won when he was out.

 

The big knock on Batum was he was endlessly inconsistent here in Portland. I have not watched many of his games this season. But just looking at his game log, he has been much more consistent there than here. Maybe he has a legitimate point.

 

Fuck that guy. He just plain sucked a big bag of dicks last year (his last year with us)

Insert excuses of a divorce that happened a couple years ago and injuries.

Whoever signs that guy to a max deal this summer is going to greatly regret doing so

 

Just looked it up, your right. Charlotte did win most of their games without Batum. The few games they lost without him they probably would have lost anyway (Warriors & OKC come to mind).

 

Nic's FA status and his improved play this year is good for us. While other teams are lining up to throw away their money, we can steal someone else that's under the radar. Well played Neil Olshey. Send a guy in the last year of his deal to a situation where he'll flourish as a smoke screen that will allow you to sneak in a nab the player you REALLY want.

BNM

 

Chandy?

 

Parsons made it seem like he's going back to Dallas, but even if he wasn't that injury history scares me and he doesn't seem like a good enough defensive player to put around Dame and CJ.

 

Neil is gonna pounce on that undervalued, under the radar Durant fella.

 

I wanted Parsons before he went down again. He seems to be injury prone.

 

I don't think the sample size is sufficient to reach any conclusions. Nic was flat out just a good fit in CHO. He helped them go from 33 wins to 48 wins even though Al Jefferson missed half the season. Of course, Kemba Walker had a breakout year, but I think that's at least partially due to Nic being such a good fit next to him at SG. Nic's ball handling and distribution relieved Kemba of some of those duties and let him focus more on being a scorer, which worked well for him and worked well for CHO.

In spite of how bad he sucked his last season in POR (for whatever reasons), he was a good fit in CHO this year and helped them to their best season in the last 16 years. Contract year coincidence? Doesn't matter. Somebody will pay him, but it won't be us.

BNM

 

Poor Nic..... say it ain't so. And what's worse is he had to replace his favorite Bordeaux vintage with a local selection. No wonder no one wants to come here!

 

That would be great, but being more realistic, I think Neil will go for two doubles instead of one home run. Of course, you go all in on Durant if you have a chance, but this team has enough holes that upgrading two starters would be ALMOST as good as landing one super star. Ok, not ALMOST as good, but if you're not going to get Durant anyway, two new, improved starters wouldn't be a bad off season.

BNM

 

Another Nic alternative for us who will be a FA next summer (prolly available in trade this year): Gallo. He averaged 8 FTs/ gm this past season, and was still plagued with minor injuries again.