Sure, and there was another interview in April 2015 where he talked about how happy he was, and it was all because the team was good. Not likely he would have felt the same after the post-Aldridge drop-off. All this to say, there was plenty of reason to believe that he wouldn't have wanted to stay.
Batum has also mentioned missing Portland. I think he would’ve went to minny, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t have stayed. It’s possible to like two places at once.
So has CHO also been misusing him? He shot .336 from 3-point range last year, averaged 11.6 ppg/4.8rpg/5.5apg with a PER of 14.4 and a TS% of .523 in 64 games. He had 3.5 WS, a BPM of 1.4 and a VORP of 1.7. A very average player on a max player contract. His best year under Stotts he played in all 82 games, shot .361 from 3-point range, averaged 13.0ppg/7.5rpg/5.1apg with a PER of 15.8 and a TS% of .589. He had 7.9 WS, a BPM of 4.2 and a VORP of 4.6 - all career bests. Are you sure it was Stotts that was misusing him? When was the last time he played for France? Perhaps he was better then, or perhaps he just plays better against weaker competition. Maybe the 82-game NBA schedule just wears him down. He seems to have suffered from nagging injuries his entire career. He's almost 30 and has been playing professionally since he was 17. He seems to be declining rapidly, while his salary continues to increase with three years left on that max contract. No thanks. He's gone, he's not coming back and it's for the best. BNM
Watching Vonleh play vs Pelicans right now. We should not have traded him. Big, strong, great defender, great rebounder, can hit outside shot. Damn.
I wish we had Ed and Noah instead of Nards and Biggie...I also wish we had Barton back too, always liked him. We gave up quick on Noah(at 21), which surprises me. Ed Noah Barton Wes Napier Wish that was our second unit.
Olshey's complete fuckery of the cap is the reason some of those players are gone. HOW DOES HE STILL HAVE A JOB?
Vonleh seems to be free in his NY team, Stotts would never let him for this crazy 3/11 night. And I wonder what would happend if he actually did... Noah Vonleh: 22/13/3/2, 3/11 for 3, age 23, salary 1,6mln, Aaron Gordon: 22/11/6/1, 2/8 for 3, age 23, salary 20mln. I was thinking about those players development in their teams. Gordon with his increasing role in Orlando and Vonleh under Stotts (I feel like it were just wasted years for Noah). Maybe next year Noah will be 15/12 player, maybe not. I'm not sure about Gordon's future either. Basing on that I just can't figure this logic: Dump Vonleh and now trying to trade CJ for Gordon.
3 for 11 was only .273. What doesn't show in his stats is that Vonleh plays defense better than the other Knicks. He learned that in Portland. So Kanter looks bad playing alongside Vonleh, and he's on his way out. I'm all for roster turnover, but Olshey can't trade, so he gives pieces away instead of using them to build a team. The direction of Olshey's team history is circular instead of upward.
Olshey paid to be rid of Vonleh - gave Hark an 8 figure deal. Stotts wouldn't give Vonleh a fair chance - continues to start Hark despite ample evidence he is physically and mentally unreliable. Tell me again how these guys are good at their respective jobs!
My problem with Batum was that he disappeared when you needed him the most when Aldridge/Roy was on he was too when they were off and we needed a spark and someone to step up he ghosted. I actually though Matthews was going to hit him one game. He has no interest in winning anything here in the NBA he just wants a fat paycheck and go home and win it in the Euro league. So I am more then ok with him being gone.
