No, but I think Batum has a lot more value around the league than either of them. And I'm not sure this year's #1 is the can't-miss that it would be in most years, so it could be easier to pry away. I see this year's top-10 being very similar to 2006's top-4: very even depth at the top, with it being a crap shoot who guesses right. Drafts like that seem ripe for wheeling and dealing.
Many hoped we would trade down on draft day and take Durant plus whatever spare change Seattle offered up for the swap. Sometimes, picking #1 is a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. Trading down can be a smart thing if the situation warrants it. If #1 isn't significantly better than the guy a few picks lower, and you can add another starter like Batum for dropping down, it's something you have to consider.
Perhaps not "can't miss", but I think that since Lebron James, only Blake Griffin has been a more clear-cut #1 than Davis is. I see very little chance of a team trading down.
Just off the top of my head, Oden, Durant, and Rose were far better prospects. Davis really doesn't excite me all that much as a #1 pick, but at least he would fit well with what we need.
First Rubio goes down, now Rudy will miss the Olympics because of a back injury. Batum is going to shut it down for the rest of the NBA season. Team France is looking at a silver or bronze medal.
I didn't say "best prospect"--I said "clear-cut #1". With Oden, there was Durant. With Rose, there was Beasley. Most years, it's not certain who the #1 pick will be. This year, there's no doubt.
MB said on twitter that Brandon had a long talk with Nic about playing aggressively. Nic in his post game interview said how he realized that he needs to play like a go to guy and is a second option now, and that he can't let a few mistakes affect his confidence completely. Let's hope he does actually believe in what he said, and builds on this game. He was destroying Gay all night.
That's Batum in a nutshell. Shades of a superstar when he's focused and aggressive, nice role player the rest of the time. The fact that he needs Roy to tell him that indicates to me that he'll always be inconsistent. That should be easy to figure out on his own.
Brandon had to be told at that age to shoot more. He thought he was shooting too much. His teammates and coaches had to convince him that they wanted him to shoot more. They needed him to dominate the ball more for them to win. I think Batum is also a un-selfish team player that wants to make sure he does not piss off his teammates by dominating the ball. I assume he was not convinced of his status on the team. No surprise that Brandon told him and not Felton or Crawford.
Brandon was already dominating the ball, just not shooting as much as some would have liked. I don't see that as at all similar to Batum. The two couldn't be much more dissimilar in terms of dominant personalities on the court. Besides, Batum has been in the league too long now to use the "same age" excuse.
At the Pacers-Suns game right now in Indy (visiting family). Hibbert is damned impressive in the post and at the elbow in person. It won't happen but I'd love to see him paired up with LA.
