Because he's an offensive player, first and foremost, and if he delivers on what he is allegedly capable of, he will make a much bigger splash than, say, Cunningham or Batum (who are defensive players first). Secondly, he's at an age where he's more likely to break out. Batum is still not going to be 21 until December, and while he COULD improve dramatically, I find it unlikely until he matures physically that he will take some sort of quantum leap. Webster is going to be 23 and is closer to his physical peak. And it's not at all accurate to say that it's MERELY his draft position that has people still intrigued by him. All reports of his skill level and abilities have been great in the last 18 months or so. Maybe the Blazers crew is misleading us, but... I doubt it. We'll see one way or the other this year, hopefully. Ed O.
Ya, Oden or Webster. I'd probably pick Oden hoping he has a break out season because that would help us the most. I'll go with both of them having a break out year! That will be sweet!
Rudy can't really breakout from his 10 PPG season. It might get bumped up to 12-14, but it won't be a leaps and bounds improvement. Most of Batum's work doesn't show up on the statsheet. Therefore, it won't seem like he improves that much. His scoring average will improve to about 8 I think. But I think he'll continue to improve vastly as our best defender. Only way Bayless can be the guy is if Blake gets traded. But IMO, it just doesn't make sense to trade Blake. Andre Miller isn't a great 3 pt shooter, so his backup should be, which Blake is. Bayless supposedly used to be able to shoot lights out in college, but that hasn't been the case the past year. Webster will be play a key part to this team. But due to the fact that we already have enough offensive firepower, Batum is bound to share about half the minutes at SF. Oden will average 26 points, 18 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Bank it. Edit - Oh and why isn't Aldridge being mentioned? This is supposed to be his all-star year and likely last year of his contract. He showed how good he can be the last of last season and I think we're going to see more of LMA running the floor for easy dunks ala Amare with Andre in the lineup. I think he could easily crank 20 and 8, depending on how much shots and rebounds Oden takes from him. And maybe Roy will breakout...with acne.
Of those options, I chose Batum. My real answer is Oden though. I expect him to have a pretty big year
he can't? Why is that? Not only was Rudy-Roy arguably the best wing pairing option the club had last year, but Andre Miller looks to be a very complimentary pairing with him in the backcourt. A year under his belt, I think it's likely that Portland goes towards a 3 guard rotation of Miller Roy and RF as the season progresses with Nate increasing his role/minutes. but like others, I would have voted for Greg if he were listed STOMP
Batum in his prime will be a tayshaun Prince, pippen hybrid with a french accent. Thats whats its all bout except the french part. just kidding
I voted for Batum. If Oden and Webster were options, I'd obviously go for Oden. But Batum would be easily be my second place finisher. Here's why: For pretty much every role on this team, there's a competent secondary option. Primary scorer: Roy, Aldridge, Fernandez Perimeter shooting: Roy, Fernandez, Blake, Batum, Webster, Outlaw (christ that's a lot!) Playmaking/ball handling: Miller, Roy, Blake Rebounding: Oden, Przybilla Interior defense: Przybilla, Oden Bench scoring: Fernandez, Outlaw, Webster Perimeter defense: Batum.....uh, hmmm. I guess you can use Roy, but do you really want to? Batum is the one guy on the team who really doesn't have a guy you can just plug in and replace. I think it's going to make it that much harder for Nate to sub him out in favor of somebody like Outlaw or Webster, who really don't do anything that somebody else on the team doesn't do much better. Most rookies are piss-poor defenders, due to jitters, unfamiliarity and a lack of leeway from the refs. That Batum came in and almost immediately took over that role of wing defender tells me he's got a lot of potential in that area. Rudy and Webster might look better than ever, but are there going to be any more shots available than last year? Are either really going to get the opportunity to score more than a dozen points a game? Batum is going to go from an 18 mpg player to a 28-30 mpg player. Oden will too. It'll have a huge impact on our defense, which has been our weakest link.
Of the players listed, Batum. However, I think Oden will have the biggest break out year of any Blazer.
