Nic stepping up

[blazers73]

Batum has played very well since Aldridge went down and became a starter again. Is Batum finally becoming the player we all hoped he would become or am I just too optimistic? IMO we need to do what it takes to keep Batum.

[Brandon-Clyde]

When Batum is consistently aggressive on offense he is a near all star player. The problem is for him to remain aggressive

[HanginAround]

we will just can't till we spend our cap room.. till then his cap hold will be 5 mil after signing him it will be 9+

[monopoman]

Batum really making a case for himself for a very nice contract if he keeps playing like this.

[Walton'sBeard!]

It looks like his agent told him he can make many millions of dollars by finishing this season strong,

[Mr Odd]

Batum is playing great but lets not get to
crazy.. .It hasnt been for that many games
and its not like there arent other players
that cant do what hes doing.. .even tho
what hes doing right now is what we need!!

Either way its great to see him playing with some pride.

[Zohan]

Batum is playing great but lets not get to
crazy.. .It hasnt been for that many games
and its not like there arent other players
that cant do what hes doing.. .even tho
what hes doing right now is what we need!!

Either way its great to see him playing with some pride.

Yeah, it hasn't been many games because Nate has been holding him back...Batum should have been starting and getting 30+ min from opening night. He has arguably the most potential on our roster but Nate has been misusing him. At 6'9" with his length and athletecism he is a mismatch on both ends of the floor. Nate is a joke! He was playing Mediocre Matthews and Crawford more minutes until recently, and I bet his hand was forced by management above. I strongly disagree with your statement that other players can do what Batum is doing! Butum is the only pure shooter on our roster and can guard 4 positions. Tonight's game was nice but unless Nate can get over his stubbornness and ego and play the players that with the most talent Nate needs to be fired!

[The Sebastian Express]

It's great to see this from Nic, hoping he can keep it up. He's always had this potential, but for many reasons he's never been able to put it together consistently (Nate sticking him in a corner, him being passive). I'll be super happy if this continues for the rest of the year.

[LicketyBrindle]

I have consistently said Batum is a star but was being held back by Nate. It took Nate forever to figure out Batum is a starter and best at the 2. Because of that, the idiot front office wasn't sure they should pay Batum and lock him up before the deadline. Now, teams are going to offer Batum big money and Por won't be able to match. Very similar to what happened with Wesley and Utah. We could have signed him and now it will come back to bite us in the ass. Even if we do match the offers it will be so expensive that it will hurt our opportunities for keeping other players or signing new ones. Another brilliant decision by mgt...

[Shem]

I have consistently said Batum is a star but was being held back by Nate. It took Nate forever to figure out Batum is a starter and best at the 2. Because of that, the idiot front office wasn't sure they should pay Batum and lock him up before the deadline. Now, teams are going to offer Batum big money and Por won't be able to match. Very similar to what happened with Wesley and Utah. We could have signed him and now it will come back to bite us in the ass. Even if we do match the offers it will be so expensive that it will hurt our opportunities for keeping other players or signing new ones. Another brilliant decision by mgt...

I don't think Nate holds him back like you think he does. How many times has Batum been passive on offense while Nate is yelling out for him to shoot the ball more. Batum holds himself back more than anything.

[LicketyBrindle]

I have consistently said Batum is a star but was being held back by Nate. It took Nate forever to figure out Batum is a starter and best at the 2. Because of that, the idiot front office wasn't sure they should pay Batum and lock him up before the deadline. Now, teams are going to offer Batum big money and Por won't be able to match. Very similar to what happened with Wesley and Utah. We could have signed him and now it will come back to bite us in the ass. Even if we do match the offers it will be so expensive that it will hurt our opportunities for keeping other players or signing new ones. Another brilliant decision by mgt...

I don't think Nate holds him back like you think he does. How many times has Batum been passive on offense while Nate is yelling out for him to shoot the ball more. Batum holds himself back more than anything.

I understand what you are saying but I would have to disagree with you. For 3 years all Nate did was basically keep Nic in the corner as an outlet to shoot 3's if the defense collapsed. He also kept playing him at the 3 when everyone could see that he would create favorable mismatches at the 2. He benched him when GW came to Por and never increased his minutes. I have always said that Wesley is not a starter and that he is better coming off the bench, and that Batum is the guy and the future for Por on the wing. Guys like Wesley are a dime a dozen in this league. And its not like I don't like Wes--I do--but not as a starter. He is a perfect bench guy and I think he actually is better suited in a reserve role. Nic is the guy that has always had the star potential. There just aren't many guys like Nic in the league. A good coach would have seen that and done.more to bring this out of Nic sooner. He would have put him in better position to maximize and utilize his talents. Nate did nothing with Nic basically his whole career except try to make him into a defensive stopper. He should have been giving Nic the opportunity to succeed on both ends of the floor. I can tell you this: if Nic had a good, offensive minded coach since the beginning he would have broke out a long time ago. Nate's style and stubbornness has been a detriment to Nic and his confidence since he came into the league.

[Blazinaway]

I have consistently said Batum is a star but was being held back by Nate. It took Nate forever to figure out Batum is a starter and best at the 2. Because of that, the idiot front office wasn't sure they should pay Batum and lock him up before the deadline. Now, teams are going to offer Batum big money and Por won't be able to match. Very similar to what happened with Wesley and Utah. We could have signed him and now it will come back to bite us in the ass. Even if we do match the offers it will be so expensive that it will hurt our opportunities for keeping other players or signing new ones. Another brilliant decision by mgt...

How do you come to the conslusion "Portland won't be able to match"? Even if they signed a marquee FA this summer and were at or over the cap they can match ANY OFFER to Nic. Lets deal with reality. And whether Nic could have been signed for 8 or 9 mil and gets an 11 mil or so offer frankly is not that big a deal IMO. We match

[Wizenheimer]

I understand what you are saying but I would have to disagree with you. For 3 years all Nate did was basically keep Nic in the corner as an outlet to shoot 3's if the defense collapsed. He also kept playing him at the 3 when everyone could see that he would create favorable mismatches at the 2. He benched him when GW came to Por and never increased his minutes.

last thing first: Wallace was in Portland for 23 games, and Batum started 19 of those games. The only ones that Batum didn't start was when there were unfavorable matchups at PF for Wallace.

So, he wasn't benched

his minutes did go down a little but not by much. For instance, in those 4 games he didn't start, he averaged 31 minutes

and it is important to point out that Portland added another SF that was an all-star. He came to Portland and averaged 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and a ton of hustle and aggressiveness

as to Batum camping in the corner, I don't like that either but there are some mitigating factors. One is that I don't think it's the plan for Batum to camp there as much as he does. Part of it, IMO, goes to Batum's lack of aggressiveness and assertiveness. He doesn't make himself available nearly as much as he could.

Another factor, this season and last, is that with Aldridge being the 1st option in the low post, dragging Batum across the paint often would serve to place another defender in a position to double and harass Aldridge. I think the Blazers could probably do a better job of utilizing both Aldridge and Batum, but I'm not going to assign it all to Nate

I have always said that Wesley is not a starter and that he is better coming off the bench, and that Batum is the guy and the future for Por on the wing. Guys like Wesley are a dime a dozen in this league. And its not like I don't like Wes--I do--but not as a starter. He is a perfect bench guy and I think he actually is better suited in a reserve role. Nic is the guy that has always had the star potential. There just aren't many guys like Nic in the league. A good coach would have seen that and done.more to bring this out of Nic sooner. He would have put him in better position to maximize and utilize his talents. Nate did nothing with Nic basically his whole career except try to make him into a defensive stopper. He should have been giving Nic the opportunity to succeed on both ends of the floor. I can tell you this: if Nic had a good, offensive minded coach since the beginning he would have broke out a long time ago. Nate's style and stubbornness has been a detriment to Nic and his confidence since he came into the league.

Last season, Wallace averaged 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, & 2 steals on 50% shooting while getting to the FT line 4 times a game. Matthews averaged 16 points, 3 rebound & 2 assists while shooting 41% from 3 pt range and getting to the line 4 times a game.

Those are pretty persuasive numbers for being starters, especially compared to what Batum was doing

I'm a big fan of Batum's, as either a SG or SF. But putting all the blame for Batum's seemingly slow development on Nate doesn't seem wholly credible to me

mainly because Batum's passive nature has been on display since the summer league before his rookie season. And we know, from what the coaches have said, and what reporters covering the team have said, that there has been concerted effort to try and make batum break out of his passive shell.

He's been looking real good in the last 5 games. He has ramped up his production without sacrificing his efficiency. But he's had the playing time and the opportunities in the past to do that very thing and hasn't taken the step. Let's all hope the next step he takes isn't backwards...that he at least holds the ground he's taken...to mix metaphors

But while you are convinced he hasn't taken that step because Nate was holding him back, I think there's just as much evidence, if not more, that he hadn't taken that step because he wasn't ready. For all we know, the learning curve and the timing is optimal right now and wouldn't have been last season, or even at the beginning of this season

[Walton'sBeard!]

I have consistently said Batum is a star but was being held back by Nate. It took Nate forever to figure out Batum is a starter and best at the 2. Because of that, the idiot front office wasn't sure they should pay Batum and lock him up before the deadline. Now, teams are going to offer Batum big money and Por won't be able to match. Very similar to what happened with Wesley and Utah. We could have signed him and now it will come back to bite us in the ass. Even if we do match the offers it will be so expensive that it will hurt our opportunities for keeping other players or signing new ones. Another brilliant decision by mgt...

How do you come to the conslusion "Portland won't be able to match"? Even if they signed a marquee FA this summer and were at or over the cap they can match ANY OFFER to Nic. Lets deal with reality. And whether Nic could have been signed for 8 or 9 mil and gets an 11 mil or so offer frankly is not that big a deal IMO. We match

If he finishes the season the way he is playing now he could get a max offer. You still want to match?

[Wizenheimer]

How do you come to the conslusion "Portland won't be able to match"? Even if they signed a marquee FA this summer and were at or over the cap they can match ANY OFFER to Nic. Lets deal with reality. And whether Nic could have been signed for 8 or 9 mil and gets an 11 mil or so offer frankly is not that big a deal IMO. We match

If he finishes the season the way he is playing now he could get a max offer. You still want to match?

that's the risk Portland took

but without know just how much Batum's agent was demanding, it's hard to know the scope of the risk or the wisdom of not agreeing

and there is the factor of Portland possibly trying to maximize cap-space this summer. Batum's cap-hold could be 5 million less then his salary (or more). A lot can be done with an extra 5 million in space

[Walton'sBeard!]

and there is the factor of Portland possibly trying to maximize cap-space this summer. Batum's cap-hold could be 5 million less then his salary (or more). A lot can be done with an extra 5 million in space

Maybe. Or he could sign a max offer sheet on day 1 of free agency.

[Wizenheimer]

and there is the factor of Portland possibly trying to maximize cap-space this summer. Batum's cap-hold could be 5 million less then his salary (or more). A lot can be done with an extra 5 million in space

Maybe. Or he could sign a max offer sheet on day 1 of free agency.

true...again, that was the risk Portland was taking

without knowing the demand or the future deal it's hard to judge if it was a stupid risk

of course, Portland seems to lead the league in stupid risks over the last few years

[Blazinaway]

and there is the factor of Portland possibly trying to maximize cap-space this summer. Batum's cap-hold could be 5 million less then his salary (or more). A lot can be done with an extra 5 million in space

Maybe. Or he could sign a max offer sheet on day 1 of free agency.

true...again, that was the risk Portland was taking

without knowing the demand or the future deal it's hard to judge if it was a stupid risk

of course, Portland seems to lead the league in stupid risks over the last few years

out of curiosity what is the "max offer" Nic could get from another team?

[Walton'sBeard!]

Yeah, I can't give Portland the benefit of the doubt anymore when it comes to risk management.

[Wizenheimer]

]

out of curiosity what is the "max offer" Nic could get from another team?

25% of the salary cap

if it's 58 million again, that would equal a starting salary of 14.5 million

a max offer would be a 4 year deal with an annual salary base of 14.5 million with 4.5% step raises (6 total) of 652K (3.9 million total). 4 years/61.9 million

14.5 million
15.15 million
15.8 million
16.45 million

he won't get that much, but he may very well start at over 10 million