Woj: Batum to Charlotte, Vonleh + Gerald to Portland

[Bassman]

I've already erupted last night, so none of that needed to echo Hornet Mania. I still do not like the trade, but respect others who see value. Cho is betting our future on a guy who will improve us, but not carry us. Excellent point that Batum is not our alpha dog, nor should be expected to be our star. He never proved it in Portland. Cho was quoted that Bat would be our starting 2. I just don't see him carrying us there. Noah may boom, but I don't see bust in the guy. At minimum he becomes a solid starter. Signing Batum to a max deal?? Not worth it.

[BlackOutBuzz]

Who aside from MKG and maaaaybe Zeller (if we keep either of them) projects to be any better in 2017 than they are now?

So with Zeller and MKG that's half our roster.

For all I know that IS our roster right now.

[mrknowitall215]

Can somebody tell me why was Batum pronounced the starting SG already? I always perceived him to be moreso a SF that secondarily play PF, and since he's so versatile athletically can sporadically play spot minutes at SG

[LofJ]

With Vonleh out the door and Al on the last year of his deal Biyombo is going to remain a Hornet. And he definitely still has growth potential. And you can add whoever it is we draft tonight to that list as well. I hate seeing Vonleh go, our front office tried to send Zeller to Portland instead, but Batum is realistically about as good of a fit as we were going to find for Kemba and MKG. It's a huge risk because there's no guarantee we can re-sign him next offseason, but we're trying to win now.

And no it isn't just because we have the All-Star game in 2017. It's also because our best shot of getting Curry is for this team to be as good as we can possibly make it in 2 years time. And thinking that we have no shot at him regardless is loser talk. We're going to give it our all to convince him to come home and yes we do have a chance.

[Hornet Mania]

Who aside from MKG and maaaaybe Zeller (if we keep either of them) projects to be any better in 2017 than they are now?

At a minimum I'd say PJ, Biz, our 2015 pick, Lamb (assuming he comes), and Kemba.

So with Zeller and MKG that's half our roster.

-Biz may or may not be with the team in 2015-2016, much less 2017 (if we pick Kaminsky/WCS tonight he's definitely a goner).
-I wouldn't bet on PJ Hairston becoming a quality rotation player, but if he does I'll be thrilled.
-Kemba may improve, or he may be exactly what he is forever.
-LMAO Jeremy Lamb.
-2015 pick could be good, but could bust just as easily.

No one in the East is afraid of our roster, nor should they be. What a miserable franchise. I miss the Bob Bass days, that dude knew how to blow a team up and get value back.

[yosemiteben]

Well if we're operating on the assumption that all the 22 and 23 year olds on our roster won't get any better, then I would agree with your point.

[Flip Murray]

Well if we're operating on the assumption that all the 22 and 23 year olds on our roster won't get any better, then I would agree with your point.

nobody was going to get better except vonleh

[mrknowitall215]

According to 82games, Batum has most seldom played the shooting guard position throughout his career out of the 3 positions that his versatility has allowed him to play

SG is Batum's least effective position, as through 7 NBA seasons he's incurred a average of a -14.3 net rating on the floor playing the SG position

[Flip Murray]

According to 82games, Batum has most seldom played the shooting guard position throughout his career out of the 3 positions that his versatility has allowed him to play

SG is Batum's least effective position, as through 7 NBA seasons he's incurred a average of a -14.3 net rating on the floor playing the SG position

what is the SG position?

[predators]

Can somebody tell me why was Batum pronounced the starting SG already? I always perceived him to be moreso a SF that secondarily play PF, and since he's so versatile athletically can sporadically play spot minutes at SG

Because he can guard the 2 and the other options are Lamb (assuming the deal goes through), PJ, and Daniels. I think Lamb has the potential to better than all of them, but getting traded from a championship contender for having **** work ethic doesn't really have me holding my breath. Though reuniting with Kemba may get him over the hump.

[LofJ]

Well if we're operating on the assumption that all the 22 and 23 year olds on our roster won't get any better, then I would agree with your point.

nobody was going to get better except vonleh

[JDR720]

the other young guys on the team should get better, but none of them has Vonleh potential. he is a near perfect mold for a modern PF. Batum doesn't get us anywhere, just another "ok" player on a team full of "ok" players.

[ball teacher]

How do you honestly think Batum will do playing with a ball dominant PG? I know Lillardis fairly ball dominant, but Walker is very, very ball dominant. He doesn't know what to do without the ball in his hands.

That can be a problem, one of his best assets was being able to take pressure off of Lillard who doesn't like to handle the ball too much. Something people don't know about Dame on the outside looking in is that he really likes to play off the ball to get easy open shots and even alley-oops.

That is why I think you guys should draft Payne at 9 he is good on and off the ball and can play big mins day 1. Walker like you said isn't great off the ball.

Thank you. Just made me want Payne even more.

Kemba isnt a ball dominant player at all. John Wall, Lebron James, Westbrook without Durant are ball dominant, the offense doesnt go through Kemba. When Kemba crosses half court he immediately gives up the ball, when Mcbob was here he ran the offense cause Kemba isnt a run the show type PG. He may have a ton of screens, or sets ran for him to get good looks but that's it. Batum will be the guy that controls the pace for us.

[Flip Murray]

the other young guys on the team should get better, but none of them has Vonleh potential. he is a near perfect mold for a modern PF. Batum doesn't get us anywhere, just another "ok" player on a team full of "ok" players.

certainly a fair opinion to have. I think MKG is our huge potential guy and Vonleh had bust written all over him. There's really no way of knowing though. We just have to wait and see.

[yosemiteben]

According to 82games, Batum has most seldom played the shooting guard position throughout his career out of the 3 positions that his versatility has allowed him to play

SG is Batum's least effective position, as through 7 NBA seasons he's incurred a average of a -14.3 net rating on the floor playing the SG position

What's the sample size on that?

Also it might have something to do with Wes Matthews playing SG, whereas their backup SF has been Claver and Wright.

[Flip Murray]

According to 82games, Batum has most seldom played the shooting guard position throughout his career out of the 3 positions that his versatility has allowed him to play

SG is Batum's least effective position, as through 7 NBA seasons he's incurred a average of a -14.3 net rating on the floor playing the SG position

What's the sample size on that?

Also it might have something to do with Wes Matthews playing SG, whereas their backup SF has been Claver and Wright.

I genuinely want to know how they determine who is playing what position

[BlackOutBuzz]

Batum and MKG are the starting wings, the positional names are arbitrary.

[ball teacher]

Disgusted with this trade, disgusted with this whole organization. Cho and Cliff have no idea what they're doing. Vonleh is going to blow up in Portland, especially if LMA leaves in free agency. Batum isn't a bad player but he isn't worth a guy with huge potential plus another solid starter.

We just "upgraded" our shooting by getting a guy whose 3pt percentage is just a tick better over his career than Brian freaking Roberts, coming off by far his worst season since becoming a rotation player. Typical shortcut "I'm about to get fired so better to go all-in this year" gambit by the Cliff/Cho brain trust. Batum duplicates too much of what MKG brings and he's not the type of player who will lift our offense.

Where is our potential for improvement now? Batum is what he is, and that is not anything close to a star. **** Clifford. **** Cho. I hope to see them both on their asses outside TWC Arena clinking coffee cups full of change next year. Damn it. Ruined draft day and it hasn't even really started. ****. I can't wait for us to trade MKG+9 for the 4th pick to draft Kaminsky then not re-sign Biz. Gonna cherish those 30 wins next year for sure.

Sorry if that seems too harsh, but man this was just too depressing. Blow it all up, fire everyone and rebuild from the ashes.

Congrats to Portland though. Blazers fans are a devoted bunch. You're going to really enjoy Vonleh, and Hendo is a true pro. Good on your front office for taking advantage of the morons we trust to make decisions.

Edit: Just noticed Batum's contract expires after this season? Brilliant! So we can give him the effing super max (or lose him for nada) while Portland enjoys Vonleh on rookie scale for two more years. Cliff and Cho can rot in hell.

There was a reason why Vonleh fell to us in the draft, and now we know why, he wasnt ready to play, and based off of what he did in Charlotte, he wont be ready next year either. We dont have time to draft a 3-4 year project, by the time he gets good, his contract is gonna be up and then we have to worry about losing him to a big market team which is why I hate drafting young undeveloped guys, especially when we arent the best at developing talent. We didnt know how far behind Vonleh was cause he ditched our pre draft workout. It sucks that a draft pick is lost, but we had to get Vonleh cause the fans wouldve ripped Cho for passing on him when he fell to us. I'm cool with giving up Vonleh for Batum, Batum is a better player, he makes our team better, and we can potentially resign him for a long term contract or worse case have money to get another good player. Vonleh wont be blow up and be a star in Portland this time next year, and I'm pretty sure he wont be star in 2 seasons.

[yosemiteben]

According to 82games, Batum has most seldom played the shooting guard position throughout his career out of the 3 positions that his versatility has allowed him to play

SG is Batum's least effective position, as through 7 NBA seasons he's incurred a average of a -14.3 net rating on the floor playing the SG position

What's the sample size on that?

Also it might have something to do with Wes Matthews playing SG, whereas their backup SF has been Claver and Wright.

I genuinely want to know how they determine who is playing what position

Fair point.

[Hornet Mania]

the other young guys on the team should get better, but none of them has Vonleh potential. he is a near perfect mold for a modern PF. Batum doesn't get us anywhere, just another "ok" player on a team full of "ok" players.

This. It replies to the snark better than I could.

We'll see how our team looks this time next year, but I'm pretty damn sure we're taking shortcuts that have very little potential for serious improvement. If I'm wrong bash me for it to eternity, I'll be **** thrilled. I'm just miserable right now. We're going all-in on a team that wasn't even close to justifying that sort of commitment. I don't give a crap about the All-Star Game, as if being the fringe 7th-10th place team committed to paying Al/Batum big bucks into their 30s is going to make us not a laughingstock when that rolls around. What a joke.