I'm shocked that people are shocked that Babbitt can play. Dude probably only went to Nevada cause he was from Reno. He was offered scholarships by Arizona, Ohio State, Michigan, UCLA, Washington, Gonzaga, USC and UNLV. [video=youtube;R0_PCqoB0aI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0_PCqoB0aI&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLDE704B45E7713629[/video]
Nate didn't need to yell or scream. He had the quickest hook in the league for young guys. It's hard to be confident or get into the flow when you're constantly worried about getting pulled from the game. One bad pass, shot, missed assignment, etc and you were out. That wreaks havoc on a young player's psyche. We saw it with Sergio, we saw it with Batum, and we saw it with Babbitt.
I keep reading that and I don't agree. He did with Sergio, but he did not with Batum or Roy, or LMA, or Martel, or even Travis. Hell you should have seen Sloan and Deron Williams his rookie year. That was way worse.
The only concern with Hickson is his cap hold during the initial FA process. If you want Deron Williams, the cap holds on Hickson and Batum may be an issue. Do the Blazers extend a Q.O. to him? It's going to be a tough decision, but it appears that they're letting him play to give him a try-out.
What a ridiculous statement. Nate was actually good at getting rookies minutes. Those that could prove themselves worthy played a lot of minutes. Hell, Roy won Rookie of the Year for Nate and was only the 7th pick in the draft, yet he had the entire offense created around him his rookie season once Randolph proved to be a Stat Beast.
Um, no. Hickson would have to accept or refuse the Q.O. prior to the FA period. It's a different time period. You have to offer the Q.O./cap hold before the FA period begins.
Outlaw was already in his third year by the time Nate took over, and he still didn't get much PT because he was so raw. Batum absolutely had a short leash, and spent many a 4th quarter on the bench even though he was the starter. There have been entire threads about Nate not playing Batum enough and sticking to his stringent rotations. Even Aldridge barely played his rookie season. Roy was an anomaly. He was a 4 year college grad and Nate already knew him from his time in Seattle. Not to mention he pretty much had no choice other than to play him. Roy always played beyond his years. Have you ever seen a rookie with his poise and handle for the game? He was special.
Roy was way special in a number of ways. Many say he was the one who ousted Zach so LA could start, then he petitioned Nate to start Batum instead of Outlaw (which even a blind man could see since Outlaw blew goats as a starter but played pretty well as a bench guy). So basically, Roy was the reason Nate played half of the young guys he played. If a player got the Roy stamp of approval, Nate would play him. Gotta keep the big guy happy.
Flynn- I too am pleasantly surprised. He has that "it" factor that can't be taught. I'd like to see really have a chance here to see what he can do. I agree that $4 million is too much, but it will also keep him here. Babbitt- No real surprise. He really isn't all that talented, but if he maximizes what he can do I think he can be a solid reserve player. Hickson- He plays with attitude and we sure can use that. I really like his game and can see him playing major reserve minutes. With these guys, two good draft picks and a lot of cap space we are positioning ourselves very well.
it's so cool to see him finally coming into his own at the NBA pace. Man, what a difference a coach makes. Err, year. What a difference a year makes.
Yes, you offer it to make him an RFA for the period in which you're negotiating with Williams. You can also withdraw it assuming Hickson doesn't sign it (you don't want him to). Once (IF) Williams agrees to sign, you withdraw the QO and Hickson becomes unrestricted. I don't think people will stress losing Hickson if we get Williams. We might have some leftover capspace to sign Hickson with anyways.
The real bummer about Flynn is that he's a UFA. Some team could offer him less money, but if it's a team that he wants to go to, we still lose him. We don't have his bird rights so we can only offer him whatever we have under the cap. I'm curious how much cap space we'll have with Batum's cap hold and Hickson's cap hold. It would be nice to have enough to still throw a max deal at Deron Williams, but if that doesn't work, I'd like to see us throw a front loaded deal at Eric Gordon. I think the fact that he plays for the Hornets is an advantage. If we put together a "Wesley Matthews" deal, it could possibly dissuade them from matching. Get Gordon, re-sign Flynn, Batum, and Hickson, and add out draft picks. That's an extremely talented young core to put around Aldridge. Flynn/Smith Gordon/Matthews Batum/Babbitt Aldridge/rookie? Hickson/rookie?
Fuck that. Sign Flynn, Hickson, and Batum, then tell Deron that he can either make some extra dough playing for a bunch of losers, or he can make a little less and actually have some talent around him for once.
I'd trade Matthews in that situation, maybe with one of our picks to get an established center. Have Elliot back up the two.
