Chris Haynes: Chad in panic mode (Re: Batum)

Apparently their latest offer is still not acceptable; Batum's agent to counteroffer this coming Monday.

LINK​

 

Unless I read that incorrectly there has been only that one low ball offer from the Blazers

and the part about "panic mode" sound like classic media BS to sell the story

 

Somehow it would not surprise me if ended up losing both Wallace and Batum when this is all said and done.

 

Panic mode = overpaying Nic. This is gonna be so bad for the franchise

 

is 9-10 mile per a huge overpay vs 7-8 per year? What I am asking is I think if we overpay it will likely be in the 2 mil per range over 4 years - is that really that big of a deal?

 

Good. We should be prepared to lose them if the alternative is overpaying. We can't be so scared that they may leave we rush to give them fat contracts. There is no chance we can compete for titles with a team built on overpaid average starting forwards. Either we get them on reasonable contracts so we have the flexability to add other starters or we let them walk and try to use the cap space efficiently on other players.

 

I don't see the "panic."

 

what do U think reasonable for Nic? - I think about 8 mil per is fair

 

He's not asking for the max but he is worth more than the MLE.

They have to get this done.

Wallace will be 30 and his type don't age gracefully.

 

Thats how we ended up with Theo Ratliff, Zach Randolph and Darius Miles on huge overpaid deals.

Darius was younger then Batum is now and accomplished a hell of a lot more in the NBA. It's critical we don't overpay borderline starters if we want to have any chance of becoming a legit contender.

 

The Blacks?

 

I actually clicked on this link to see if this new bee used the term "panic mode". I was gonna' crack on him for just stirring up shit like Quick.

 

Perhaps he gets that this summer, but I would not offer that to him now, I wouldn't offer much more then a full MLE deal right now.

If he is offered 8 mil per as a RFA we probably bite the bullet and match. But theres little incentive for us to lose that flexability now. Batum will have a lower cap hold, so we can sign a free agent, add a Rashard Lewis type player off amnesty, THEN match an offer for Batum.

I want to see Batum's play the rest of the season and in the playoffs, then we will have a much better idea of where he is at. Look at how fast a guy like Devin Harris wen't from an all-star to a crappy backup, NBA players performance is very unpredictable and fluidly in flux. Guys get injured, young guys don't improve as much as we hope, the team gets a stud at the same position in a trade, a lot can chance by the off-season. We only have 2 guys on the roster who've played here more then one full season here. There is tons of turnover on an NBA roster. We will have better information on Batum and the overall direction of this roster at the end of the season and should only lock him up long-term now if the team gets a good discount.

 

I don't think there is much to lose by waiting until the summer.

Yup. The team holds all the leverage now. No point in making the final offer now.

 

Of course not; you know black don't crack.

His type meaning high-energy guy who relies heavily on his athletic ability.

 

I could go either way with Nic as far as an extension goes versus free agency. On the one hand he's still young, he's versatile, he gets along with his teammates, he's a solid citizen, but I would like to see some more sustained high level production. Him becoming a RFA isn't the end of the world because the Blazers retain the right to match,

But damn this could backfire too. Somebody could really try to overpay him which would make matching just as painful as not.

If they can get it done for no more than 8.5 million a year I'd be pretty happy with that.

 

Remember how up in arms half the fan base was when Roy wasn't immediately offered a fully guaranteed max deal with a player opt out? Turns out he never played a healthy game under that contract.

The amnesty saved our franchise big time in that instance, but it won't be available again any time soon. Many fans don't understand the caution that needs to take place when agreeing to long term deals. Lots of fans just see a player on the roster they like and think the team should do whatever they can to make the player happy. The Blazers have been better about that in recent years, and I hope they are cautious as well with Nic.

 

I dont want them both and sure dont want to overpay both but I have no problems paying a little above for Batum since he is younger and very much fits the mold of that glue guy that most teams need. And we really dont have the best idea of what Batum can really do if for no other reason than he isnt as focal a point of the offense as he could be.

 

There is a flex exception in the new CBA which allows you teams to mitigate the pain of a contract signed in the new CBA. Regardless, Roy had a myriad of medical red flags (some publicly known, others not so much) going into his extension negotiations that Nic doesn't possess. It's not exactly the same situation.