Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer team)

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by axs88, Apr 4, 2010.

  1. axs88

    axs88 Active Member

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    ...in terms of winning multiple championships with the Roy/Oden/LMA core.

    Obvious:

    LeBron James
    Kevin Durant
    Carmelo Anthony

    Danny Granger: I'd probably take him over Batum as well, but he's clearly a tier below the above guys, and I'm not sure how he'd look with the number of touches Batum gets. It's still somewhat of a no brainer though.

    Gerald Wallace, not so sure, seeing how important Batum's much improved long ball is in our system.

    Rudy Gay: No. Don't think he would be happy long term as a 3rd-4th option, and his production's never been too impressive (not to mention his D).

    Luol Deng: No. I think with this season's lights out shooting, Batum has a much higher ceiling, and is already better at shooting the 3.

    Bottom line, I'd only take 4 players over Nic for our team (in terms of the next 5 years). I really like the player Nicolas is turning into, and I think he's a perfect fit for us.
     
  2. SpanishFly

    SpanishFly Member

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    Ya gotta have a guy who can take the other teams best player and really play good D against him, and Batum can and does do that. In addition his outside shooting at 21 is incredible and he will develop more offensively. Frankly, given the other players we have, I can't think of a guy I'd rather have at SF for the next 5-10 years. His BBIQ is already high at such a young age, IMO he one of the last guys I would trade on this team unless it brings us a CP3 (Joel, Batum, Bayless) for CP3, then I have to consider trading him but reluctantly.
     
  3. MIXUM

    MIXUM Suspended

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    asking this question is like asking someone for their child....

    dont you know hoe blazer fans think? batum is better then lebron.
     
  4. Wheels

    Wheels Is That A Challenge?!?!1! Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    with hard work Batum can become a Thabo Sefolosha type player ;)
     
  5. Nikolokolus

    Nikolokolus There's always next year

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    Webster ...
     
  6. axs88

    axs88 Active Member

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    Duh!

    Actually, I was asking this question because I think that outside of the top 4, he's either right there with the best SFs in the league when you consider efficiency+defense, and if this season's not a fluke, he's got 20 PER and all defensive potential.
     
  7. axs88

    axs88 Active Member

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    Haha, I remember mixum arguing for starting Webster over Batum because we need someone who can hit a jumper and score more than 5 ppg.

    Sorry mixum, but it's teh truth.. you fail at evaluating players.
     
  8. Further

    Further Guy

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    Sticking strictly to SF. Bron, KD, Melo, Granger and that's about it. Take a look at Hollinger Stats - Player Efficiency Rating - Qualified Small Forwards. Batum is the 6th most efficient SF at only 21 years of age.

    I might also consider trading him for the second pick in this years draft, Evan Turner.
     
  9. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    Since Roy is a poor defender we really need Nic's defense. If we had a better defending wing-man then I'd take Deng and maybe some others over Nic but with the current roster he is an above average small forward.

    I'm surprised nobody said they'd take Durant over Nic? I'd obviously do that.

    I'd also take Josh Smith, Jamison, Odom, Ginobili, Joe Johnson, Iguodala, and Vince over Nic to pair with Roy at the swing positions. If your projecting the team years from now then Nic might be more valuable than some of those older players, I'm thinking more about who I would want this season and next year.
     
  10. illmatic99

    illmatic99 formerly yuyuza1

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    He's currently sixth in the league among SFs in PER @ 18.77, and leading the league overall in TS% with 67.5% (Oden is third). He's sporting 50-40-90 line this season. Suffice to say, I would take him over anyone other than LBJ, Melo, Durant, Iggy, and Granger. I'd consider Smith as well, but he's more of a PF than a SF anyway.
     
  11. Minstrel

    Minstrel Top Of The Pops Global Moderator

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    I largely agree with you. I think Wallace is better right now, but factoring in age and durability, I wouldn't trade Batum for Wallace. I think Batum is better right now than Gay and Deng. I used to be really high on Deng, but he hasn't continued to progress the way I thought he would.

    Granger would be a tough call. Granger is better right now, but probably not a better fit right now. And I think Batum's long-term potential rivals the player Granger is.
     
  12. Pritchslap Madness

    Pritchslap Madness Below the Rim

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    If it's straight across trade, the only player I wouldn't trade Batum for from the list above would be Deng. KP would be out of his mind if he turned down Granger, Wallace, or Gay in a Batum trade. Those guys have proven they are legit were Batum is great but still not there yet and may never be. Its easy to go crazy thinking about potential, hell not long ago people were crazy about Sergio and Bayless. You are vastly over rating Batum and Batum one of my favorite player on the team.
     
  13. STOMP

    STOMP mere fan

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    Deng and Granger both have injury concerns. Even with a few blown out knees in his history I'd still roll the dice on Danny along with the givens in the OP... dude can really score is a great all around talent.

    Its funny to me that just a couple months back more then a few here were claiming that Martell > Nic. I didn't think it was close to true back then but now it's moved beyond debatable. Those who like hearing the Blazers in a positive light would have really enjoyed the King's broadcasters repeatedly going ga-ga over NB last night. Among the many compliments they called his D on Tyreke the best of the year.

    STOMP
     
  14. PtldPlatypus

    PtldPlatypus Let's go Baby Blazers! Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    Allegedly, Batum is the reason that RLEC wasn't traded for Wallace last season. If that's actually the case, you believe KP should be institutionalized?
     
  15. oldmangrouch

    oldmangrouch persona non grata

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    Trading Batum for Gay or Deng would be highly debatable. Deng is brittle, and Gay has a number of bad habits to go with his obvious talent.

    Granger and Wallace are stronger cases. Both are at a level we hope Batum will reach, but both have had injury problems. Whether you make that deal depends on how close you believe this team is to actual contention. It would make the team better next season....but it might not matter 3 years from now.

    If the team actually had the chance to get Wallace for Batum last season, I would have been fine with that.....but I have high enough hopes for Batum that I wouldn't lock KP in a loony bin for turning it down. :devilwink:
     
  16. Pritchslap Madness

    Pritchslap Madness Below the Rim

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    YES! If it was the RLEC and Batum for Wallace only. I don't believe it was though. Adding Wallace to this team at the time when Oden was healthy would had made us instant contenders this year!
     
  17. MARIS61

    MARIS61 Real American

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    Only LeBron.
     
  18. bobf

    bobf Well-Known Member

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    Danny Granger No
    Gerald Wallace No
    Rudy Gay No way in hell
    Luol Deng: No
     
  19. Rhal

    Rhal Well-Known Member

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    Danny Granger is a great offensive player but his defense isn't as good as Batum. With our line up we do need that third option which hopefully will be Oden when he is back. What i'm saying is i'd rather take a good defensive stopper like batum over a scorer like granger. As for wallace he is a great player who is one of the most athletic players in the league... but his age combine with the fact his body takes a toll the way he plays i'll keep batum.
     
  20. Nikolokolus

    Nikolokolus There's always next year

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    Re: Who would you take over Batum (or: is there a better fit for this future Blazer t

    The player Nic seems to most resemble so far in his young career is the kind of player that Josh Childress was for Atlanta; a glue guy who was very efficient on offense, passed reasonably well, rebounded well, only Nic's defense seems to be a step above and he's already a better outside shooter than Chill was/is.

    As for who I would take over him, I think Durant is a no-brainer, as is Melo, probably Granger and maybe Gerald Wallace. Regardless, he fits this team like a glove and still has a lot of room left to grow, hopefully another summer of individual work on his game will help him tighten up his handle, improve his mid-range game and maybe in another 3 years we'll be talking about him as a potential first team all-NBA defender with a deadly 3 point shot, and some good all-around offense.
     

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