Nearly all of LaMarcus' baskets are from set plays and the offense revolving around getting him the ball. Nearly all of Nico's baskets are from hustle plays, putting himself in the right place at the right time, or when nothing else is open. Imagine what he'd do if he were featured on offense and had plays run for him. I think some people don't fully appreciate all the ways he contributes that don't show up on the stat sheet. He's a really smart and active player. He is definitely getting better and better. I'm glad he's finally getting the respect and opportunities he deserves, and he's earning it.
Or a shooting guard. I think he's definitely displaying the handles necessary to play a guard spot, and his ability to defend any perimeter position has really never been a question to me. IMO, the Blazers should just view him as a swing man. Right now, the more guard minutes he can take, the better.
I think Nic will end up somewhere between Rudy Gay and Shawn Marion in terms of ability and impact. He and Gay are really similar on offense (Nic just doesn't shoot as many pull up jumpers), but Nic plays better D.
Now that Batum is our SGOTF, we don't necessarily have to dump Crash to make room for him. Unless of course Crash can help us get a top PG, but how likely is that?
I think nic is a much better defender than gay and a purer shooter than Marion. I do like the comparison
Still, I think Wallace will want > 40mil, and given his reliance on athleticism, his age, and his injury history, we should think long and hard before committing long term to G. Especially when Nic can duplicate a lot of his skills. Also, I haven't given up on Wessy either, and depending on how this draft turns out, we might move Nic back to his original position (this draft is loaded with good SGs).
I agree with all that. Even if Wallace just exercises his option, that still may be more of a cap hit than we should take this off season. Safest thing to do might be to trade him while we can. If we had a GM, I wonder what he'd be thinking about all of this.
What can I do to make Paul Allen "comfortable", because that's the only way I'll keep this job more than 10 months? BNM
Shooting guard, small forward, swing man, wing ... whatever you want to call it, I agree he's capable of filling the role because ultimately you are who you can guard and I do think he's got enough of handle to get the job done. But I guess I think "small forward" when I watch him, because he's got some ability to actually play stretch 4 and has started to display some post up game. In any case I don't care where he plays for the Blazers, I just think it's becoming increasingly obvious that he should be getting 36 minutes a night and he should be getting regular touches. And hopefully he doesn't get an offer sheet that Paul Allen declines to match.
Paul Allen had a boner for Darius Miles after half a season with advanced stats below what Nic is currently producing. How can he possibly NOT want to resign Nicolas Batum? BNM
He won't get a max contract offer. With the new CBA, max contracts will be reserved for superstars. Nic could be a decent 2nd option or great 3rd option on a contender, but he's not a 1st option/franchise type player. He's good, but he's not that good. BNM
I'm worried. So many teams have cap space this summer. If he keeps up this play, he might not get a max offer, but it will be close.
Rondo didn't even get a MAX offer, and Batum certainly isn't on Rajon Rondo's level I wouldn't worry.
Different situations. How many teams had money in that offseason? How many have money in this offseason?
I think your short changing him a bit. He's already better at producing than Gay. Has a ways to catch Marion in his prime, but Nic is a much more lethal long distance shooter than both.
I don't think it matters much. Teams aren't going to drastically overpay for a player unless they're stupid. You give the MAX to franchise players. Batum certainly isn't a franchise player. 5/60 is the absolute max offer I can see him getting. That works out to the same $ per year Luol Deng got (he signed for 6/71).
Rudy Gay still averages 1.7stl/G Rudy Gay is a really good player. I can only hope Nic will be as good as him.
That first line scares me. Teams, absolutely are stupid. We've seen tons of bad, crippling contracts in the past. Now you have half the league bidding on the same stock of players, I'm willing to bet at least half a dozen players get really ridiculous contracts. I'd match 5/60, but anything more is a bit iffy, and there's a chance he gets it. This is why I was so adamant on getting an extension done. He probably would have taken 5/50, and that would have been a great deal.
Well the good thing is no other team can offer 5 years. We hold Batum's "Bird Rights"; which is the only team to offer a 5 year deal.
