Would you trade a package that centered on Nik Batum for Monta Ellis?

Rudy had an excellent Rookie season, but I really think he's a different player after the hit that Trevor Ariza laid on him. Kind of like Derek Anderson was never the same after Juwan Howard undercut him in the playoffs.

 

Yes of course. Say what you want about him, but the guy is one of the best scorers in the league.

 

Unrelated to the thread topic but Batum is averaging 16pts/G this month on 49% shooting. His 3pt% is still down but at some point I expect it back in the 37-40% range. Just turned 22.

Nice to see him bounce back after McMillan played all those mind games!!! I mean...young players never play well under McMillan!!! Never!!!

 

Roy who?

My answer is no. Ellis is a gunner and a scorer, that's for sure. He needs the ball a lot, so he can go one-on-whoever, and I simply don't see him as the cornerstone of a playoff team. No, Batum isn't the cornerstone/all star of a championship team either, but I like what Batum brings to the team as the kind of glue guy a championship team needs. Ellis will never defend and rebound the way Batum can, or defend the players Batum can. And Batum is only getting better.

 

One could say Nate's "mind games" worked to get him playing better. Maybe they are the same kind of mind games Sloan uses with young players. I know he looks up to Jerry. I don't understand why a coach has to kiss a player's ass when they are not playing well. And Batum was clearly not aggressive enough earlier in the season.

 

Nope. Wouldn't even consider it for a moment.

 

No way.

I loathe Monte Elis.

I wouldn't trade Sean Marks for that volume shooting, homeless man's Allen Iverson.

 

1) Ellis is not my type of player, in general, so the interest level is muted.

2) The time to trade for Ellis was when his trade value was so low they literally could not give him away. At that time, I thought it might be interesting to take Ellis off Golden States' hands and hope he comes back to his old form.

He has. Now that he has, his price has skyrocketed. Wrong time to buy.

3) On the other hand, Batum is having an off year. This may be his new normal, but there is a good chance he will be better, possibly much better in future seasons. Selling now would be selling low (to most teams, there might be 1 or 2 GMs that would still give big value for Batum).

4) With Ellis back to form and have one of his two best season's, and with Batum having a down year - Batum is STILL a higher +/- player. Think about that. Despite Ellis explosive scoring ability, there is little evidence that he helps his team win a lot of games.

 

I'd certainly be tempted as I feel a lot better about Monta's playmaking/PG ability then most of the board seems to. Dude is also a fantastic go option at the end of the shot clock/game which is something the Blazers sorely lack. Obviously the salaries aren't anywhere close to matching, so Portland would have to include others to make things passable. Since Ellis is one of their two decent guards, I'd imagine they'd want Matthews as well to fill the void at SG... but then isn't Wes base year? On top of that, their SF Dorrell Wright is quietly having a pretty solid season shooting 42% from deep (making 2.5 a game) while providing decent D so I don't really see them coveting Nic. I'd also point out that the Warriors are Portland's closest geographical rival and in the same conference... remind me of the last deal between the two clubs

so yes I'd be interested but this seems like the sort of hypothetical that has little to no chance of happening in the real world.

STOMP

 

yes again.

 

yes again x 3000

 

6'3", 185lb shooting guards, even if they can score in big bunches, leave me cold. Just too much of a defensive liability. I also think that Nic has so much potential due to his offensive and defensive talents that giving him up would in the long run prove to be a massive mistake.

 

Except for one problem - the salaries don't match. Thus, we would lose "a player of consequence" or one of our ending contracts, or both in Miller's case.

Is it worth it then?

 

I don't like hypothetical trade scenarios, but this is a intriguing one. Damn it is tempting. It is a pretty good trade for both teams.

Even though I think Miller runs a team better than most PG's in the league, I think I would roll the dice with it. Worse case scenario (Roy out) I would have Ellis, Wes, DC, LMA and Camby start. (3 scorers and two rollplayers) For some match ups you could start Rudy and move Wes over to the three.

I like Batum a lot, and I know I stated before that you would need to put Monta at the SG position, but I think Ellis at the PG could work.

The question to me is what is harder to find over the summer, a good defensive sf (Nic) or an excellent scoring PG? (Monta)

If Roy ever played again, Ellis, Roy, Wes, Camby/Oden and LMA would be pretty good next year.

 

It's real simple. Would Golden State consider this deal or hang up the phone? My guess is that it would be the latter rather than the former. So: yes, I would make that deal.