When Martell Webster broke his foot, I imagined a world in which perhaps Rudy Fernandez ascended to Portland's starting line-up. It was all a bit tongue-in-cheek, as Travis Outlaw seemed the clear favorite for the small forward job. Outlaw, of course, is a tenured pillar of PDX, a sparky bundle of basketball exuberance who seeks a greater stake in the team's future. Outlaw is the no-brainer here, Fernandez the fanciful daydream.
... and like a bat out of les Catacombes, here comes Nicolas Batum, the teenaged Francais who slipped to No. 25 in the '08 draft after years of lottery projection. Batum will not only stick in the States this year, he's looking to keep Webster's spot warm. From The Oregonian via Blazers Edge:
"I mean, at first it was one day. Then it was two days. And now it's three days. And it's still Nic," [Brandon] Roy said, pointing out that Batum has worked exclusively with the first unit the past three practices.
That leaves Roy with no other conclusion than [Nate] McMillan is very serious about starting Batum at small forward in the season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers, which his a mere 11 days away.
Since then, McMillan has said Batum will start in Portland's next preseason game (Monday at Sacramento). This is a stunning turn of events, even by Trail Blazer standards. Here we have this universally beloved roster filled with award winners and top picks and breakouts waiting to happen ... and a mostly anonymous French kid almost no one has seen in professional game action swoops in and gets a starting job. Has a team ever managed to be a consensus heartthrob of 60-year-old pundits and a cult favorite at the same time? This is some '72-73 Virginia Squires stuff here.
