Batum's skill set+length+height+athletic ability, I think the best comparison (ceiling) is a young AK47.
Batum is a nice prospect to have. I really think he has enormous upside, with his size, athleticism and defensive instincts.
Batum reminds me more of a Tay Prince than an Andrei Kirilenko. AK47 has the all around game. Batum is just long with good instincts.
This guy has a preternatural ability to talk the game like a veteran. He understands the game and he understands the business. With others you'll find their myopia directed solely inwards, while this "la cage aux folles" portends an enlightenment beyond his years. He sure allows for the assumption that he has the ability to direct his career.
When talking about upgrades at SF I think the best choice would be Battier. Nicolas could learn so much from Battier and when Battier starts to decline Batum would be ready to take over.
Battier would be terrific for us. the problem is that I don't think Houston would give us the final piece and then watch us kill their championship dreams until McGrady and Yao retired.
Well that assumes that Houston is bi-polar. If they are not bi-polar, then Houston EITHER thinks Battier is a "missing piece", in which case they keep him on their team. He isn't overpaid, so why wouldn't they keep him. Or, they don't think he is any sort of "missing piece", in which case they make a trade if they think it would improve their team.
Two new articles on Batum. The first one I just translated his quotes, the article itself didn't have anything in it that we don't already know. The second one was especially hard to translate, hopefully I didn't misinterpret anything. http://www.lemans.maville.com/Baske...nd/re/actudet/actu_spo-731597------_actu.html * Portland is like Lyon. * I've heard about it [being too young to succeed in the NBA, etc.], but on my side, I never imagined playing in the D-League. I knew that Portland wanted me to work with the first team so that I develop my potential. * I'm the last person to be able to criticize the course of the Blues this summer because I refused the selection. But the next day after the defeat against Turkey, I went to see my managers and I told them that if I was called next year, I would go. Portland told me OK without my having to fight. It's an open club, fullfilling. * We had a training match in front of... 15,000 people. At half time, LaMarcus Aldridge took the mike and called me with the other rookies. We had to, each on his own, improvise a dance in the middle of the court. I didn't do so well. * [regarding his number] I wanted #5. It was taken by Rudy Fernandez. I asked for #33, James Jones had it. He left the club after but I couldn't get it back. Number 10 was taken by Martell Webster. So what do I do? My birthday? 14 or 12 (he was born december 14th), that sucks. My best friend whispered to me: "why don't you take your birthyear, 88?" I thought that was bold. At least I'm sure to be the only one to wear it. http://www.lemans.maville.com/Baske...n-/re/actudet/actu_spo-731290------_actu.html Nicolas Batum is going to begin the season tonight against the Lakers. Old coaches, managers, and teammates recall memories and anecdotes. Phillipe Desnos (ex youth coach at MSB) "Nicolas, when I was a scout at Caen BC, I called him Bambi. When he came like that, very lanky, very big, you had the impression that he was going to fall each step. He was baby-like in his approach and his way of being. He was very mothered with his family history. A big kid naive in all his splendor. So it's astonishing to see everything he's done in such a little time. With his gift, as soon as he put a foot on the court, he was up to scratch, he played with a capital P without ever being daunted by the challenge. Simply, he could be bad in a school game and the next day be excellent in an international match. Behind his kindness hides a hell of a warrior. He no doubt owes it to his father that I knew a little bit on the court." Alain Koffi (ex-teammate at MSB) "At first, things didn't look that good for him. He was guaranteed to be in the D-League. The fact that he can debut in the NBA is already a very good thing. Nicolas was a very fun teammate who took games one after the other without getting worked up. A good teammate. With me, we teased each with football, in view of the fact that he has Cameroonian origins and me, Ivorian. Very soon, we learned that he had the talent for the NBA. On the court you have the impression that he never forced anything. It even became unnerving telling yourself that if he forced a little, it'd be even better. But that's his personality, his way of being." Jean-Pierre Goisbault (ex-president at MSB) "Nicolas, he was sort of born with us. At the very beginning, he was very raw. A well raised boy, very polite, who always told you hello and good bye. A hard worker always ready to listen. His weakness was his inconsistency in his performances. One day, he was extraordinary, the next day he was all wrong. He knew it. When he came to the pros, he succeeded but he wasn't successful at everything, immediately. He has so much talent that he rests a bit on this talent." Didier Godefroy (ex-teacher at Caen BC) "He truly was a boy. One day, during an exercise at Insep (National institute of sport and physical education), I remember Nicolas who half as fast as the others and didn't touch the lines. He was still a junior when many considered him a cadet because of his size. A child particularly adorable but a baby still very close to his mom. With him, I always appreciated his quality of passes and this capacity to have his wingspan and to watch the game. Very quickly, I alerted a lot of people around me about him. And then, there's his own story (his father) which would inevitably be a big source of motivation for him." Rodolph Hamon (ex-trainer at Pont-L'Evêque) At 3-4 years old, he already came with his mother in the room. I saw him then start basketball school at around 5. At the time, there wasn't anyone lazier (laughing). It was so easy that he didn't force anything. He won all the competitions. However, the day when it became harder, he managed all the same. He stayed at Pont-L'Evêque until he was a junior. Very quickly, his interest was to go progress elsewhere. In Caen first of all then after in a youth academy. His mother didn't half get offers from Le Havre or Cholet. I remember having advised him to go to Le Mans because I knew people over there. Otherwise, Nicolas give a big thank you to his mom who always did everything so that he succeeded. The day before the draft, I had sent a text to Nicolas so that he remembers his mom's sacrifices to get him where he is.
KP's done it again. NBADraft has him compared to Rudy Gay..but I hope he turns out like Tayshaun Prince/Josh Smith.
new interview He thought he would discover the NBA in Portland’s starting five, moreover against the Lakers. Last night, Nicolas Batum finally had to content himself with less than 4 minutes of playing time. A disappointment for the French wing, who confided Wednesday in the mike of RTL-L’Equipe, in the program Carrément Basket. Nicolas Batum, you played your first match in the NBA last night against Los Angeles. How did you experience this moment? A little (hesitating)… bizarrely. A little bizarrely because the coach had told me that I was going to be in the starting five. And then the morning after practice, he changed everything! He changed the plan of attack, all the strategies, and he took me out of the starting lineup. How did he explain all these changes to you? He told me: “Given all the tactical changes that we’re going to make, I think that Travis who has been with the club for longer will absorb them quicker.” But on the other hand me I was supposed to be in the second unit, off the bench, for my defense against Radmanovic or especially against Lamar Odom… in the end I only had a few minutes at the end of the game. You can imagine your disappointment at the end of the meeting. Yes it’s true that I took it badly at first. But it’s just like that. I talked about it with Didier Mbenga (a Laker player) and he told me: “That’s the NBA, that’s how it is here.” Did you feel like you were set aside? I don’t know. I have to meet with the coach today or tomorrow. I hope that this choice was specifically for the game against the Lakers. I don’t think that I’m being put aside because he talked to me about it again this week. He told me that he had confidence in me, that I was capable of playing. So I think that it’s more for this game that I was set aside. Does the fact that you only played 3 minutes in the meeting ruin your first NBA game? A bit all the same…because if the coach had told me, two months ago, that I will be on the bench, I wouldn’t have said anything. But given everything that’s happened and everything that I’d been promised, of course I’m disappointed. I didn’t really understand, but oh well, I’ll deal with it… Now I know where I stand, I see the start of how it works here. I won’t be surprised anymore. That’s the only positive of this whole thing! How did this young Portland team cope with the first game against last year’s finalists? There’s a lot of talk about us as one of the possible surprises of the season in the West, but we’re still very young. And I think that we played this game like a pre-season game. I don’t think that we didn’t prepare like we should’ve, like for the first game of the regular season. I think that we got a good cold shower, that will wake us up. Friday, the San Antonio Spurs come. The fact that we play another ace team of the League will do us good, it will launch our season. We s tart with five complicated games (L.A. Lakers, San Antonio, Phoenix, Utah and Houston). It’s good for us. We’re going to evaluate ourselves against the strong teams of the conference. Your center Greg Oden got hurt again (right foot), do you already have news from him? Not really. All that we know is that he left with a big splint. It’s true that Joe (Joel Prizbilla [sic], in place of Oden) had a good game on the court last night (11 rebounds). But it’s true that he doesn’t provide the same contribution offensively like Greg. And it’s true that when LaMarcus (Aldridge) had a game like last night’s (8 points, 4/12 shooting) it becomes complicated for us. We’re hoping that Greg is going to come back quickly with us.
I feel bad for Batum.... Oh well. Hopefully nate saw enough to know that this kid deserves some minutes.... outlaw doesn't need to play 37 minutes a night.
