Should we have kept Nicolas Batum?

too early to tell

 

but either way we got ron. its win now. and we would probably not even be in the playoffs this year if not for the artest trade.

 

Spurs and Blazers both wanted them. And based off their past drafts in the 20s or 2nd round, they do pretty well.

Hell... Spurs second choice (behind Batum) was George Hill. And he turns out to be a productive players.

Some fans will call Morey a genious at drafting the players, but his sample is small. Landry, Brooks, Greene, and Dorsey. Of course... we got Ron out of Greene, but right now... Greene and Dorsey doesn't look good at all. (I still have hope for Dorsey though, his type of body is just rare in a basketball player)

 

No doubt about it. Getting Ron was more important. I don't see Batum as a Pippen. Scottie was a great ball handler who could finish at the rim by himself as well as a fine passer. Defensively there is some similarity.

 

so are a lot of guys in the league, point?

 

i'd rather have ron artest which we traded our first round pick for anyway. doesn't matter who we drafted.

 

I think the Portland GM is amazing. He has totally rebuilt this team from nothing in a few years. If Darius Miles woud have stayed retired, they could have gotten a max player this off season. Crazy.

 

I've watched him all season and it appears to be an obvious mistake to let him go. But keep in mind the sole reason the Rockets drafted him was the Blazers asked them to snag him in front of the Spurs and make a trade. The Blazers had no idea he would be this good. They debated whether to even have him play in summer league. Supposedly it was Paul Allen who insisted they bring him over. When they saw him in summer league, the Blazers realized what they had.

This guy has a very bright future in the NBA. Watching him completely fluster AK47 earlier this week was priceless. I'm not sure if Batum will measure up to Scottie Pippin, but I'll say he has a chance to be very very good. After Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Rudy & Przybilla, Batum is their next untouchable player.

 

In my opinion,unless someone has a great handle they can't become a star unless you are a classic back to the basket center or PF.
Pippen was not a finisher in the clutch, but he was an all star in his prime. Batum's skill set is different. I think he will improve and could become a very solid role player over a long period of time.

Edit: There are exceptions like Marion who was an all-star, but now he isn't as effective as he was because he doesn't have a Nash to create shots for him. Pippen ended up overplaying when he should have hung up his boots but he could create his own shot. I see Batum as a leaner Marion type player but not as a star.

 

He says Batum has the same BODY TYPE and athleticism as Pippen, not the same SKILLS. Big difference.

 

I've been entirely impressed with Batum in the limited time I've seen him play.

Given Yao's window, I don't think we made a mistake though. At the time, few people probably saw Batum being this good this quickly. We knew roughly what we were getting in Artest so it made sense for a team in "win now" mode.

 

He has the skills. Batum is not only quick & long with good hops, he has good defensive instincts, decent (and improving) handles, is already a very good finisher (ask Pau ) and can hit the 3-point set shot. He was smart & cautious enough early in the season to play within himself and minimize mistakes. But you can tell he's been working hard in practice to improve because he's doing more things now like putting the ball on the floor more (on the break and in half-court) and shooting off the dribble. His improvement since the beginning of the season has been amazing to watch.

Apparently Batum is extremely shy and reserved, but recently when he slam dunked in Pau's face for the 2nd time, he shot up two fingers on the way down the court. Everyone knew what he meant.

You can say every 20 year-old NBA player "has a lot of room to improve", but Batum has actually demonstrated he might end up a special player. I expect him to take a major step forward his 2nd year and own the starting SF spot for the Blazers next season.

 

That's a good observation. One of the things that impresses me most about him is his poise and decision-making (not to mention his great athleticism). Whether it's his personality or basketball intelligence or a combination of both, he seems to play beyond his years. Once he fills out and gains more experience, he could become one of the elite role players in the league.

 

I did read that,but when one says he reminds him of Pippen it's seems to me that they think he could become a similar type of player as well.

 

I dont know, but we def. should of drafted Rashard Lewis!!

Translation : If if's and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas.

 

That's the quandary of being in the win now mode. Sometimes you pass up on the young unproven talent in favor of the known commodities. So far we've got Rudy Gay and Batum to do the "what if" game. While both are nice players, I'm not faulting Morey for going in the direction he went. My bigger concern is if our main pieces are really the players that can get us anywhere in the playoffs, much less a title that everyone hopes for. I've been getting the feeling Morey has been building around Yao and Tmac in dogged futility. Appreciate the effort, but I've been getting the all for naught feeling lately, unless Morey does something that Les won't allow him to do (yeah I'm not even going to say it).

I guess I got sidetracked from Batum. Pippen was the quintessential point forward, he alleviated Jordan and the cast of PGs during the Bulls dynasty of the ballhandling duties and his growth into a bonafide 2nd tier star helped the Bulls become the dynasty team they became. I don't think Batum will ever have the handles like Pippen (Pippen was a PG in his college days before his growth spurt), but if he becomes a solid complimentary piece to Roy, the Blazers will be set for the next decade.