Batum has torn ligament in right wrist

[julius]

Anyone who hoped Dame would make Team USA has no business complaining about Nic playing for France.

AND questioned LaMarcus's drive when he didn't want to try out for the USA team.

 

[BBert]

Batum's inept play has held us back over the last couple weeks. In that three game losing streak, he was a major momentum killer, turning the ball and throwing up airballs. And even when he had a good game in Phoenix, he choked at the freethrow line. Last night against the Wizards was the best we've looked in a long time. And it wasn't just because Aldridge came back but that Batum was gone. Wright was way more effective.

Batum's play while injured definitely hurt in a number of games. He should have been sitting and healing. But he manned up. It didn't help. That's on the coach and medical/training staff.

Batum carried the Blazers in that game until he missed a single free throw late. Even if he'd made it the Blazers still likely lose that game. And wasn't it the very next game that Wes "choked " a late free throw that WOULD have sealed a win? I didn't see a single fan throw Wes under the bus.

 

[magnifier661]

Batum is hardly a coward.... Did you see that fall and how he tried to play a couple games after? I may not care for Batum, but calling him a coward is pretty stupid.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

There was a rumor that his divorce is fucking with his head. Wouldn't be surprised.

 

[julius]

There was a rumor that his divorce is fucking with his head. Wouldn't be surprised.

I heard he drinks like a shark.

 

[rasheedfan2005]

Nba owners have plenty of money. Just as the player has freedom to go play for his country the employer can not offer contracts if they think its a bad investment. And insurance covers injuries. This isn't a fucking slave market where million dollar slaves can only pick cotton for one massa.

Batum is a good dude playing a game he loves, quit being dicks.

 

[barfo]

So he got injured playing basketball during the summer? What would you rather have him do during the summer? Lie in bed, like Brian Wilson did?

He got hurt playing basketball (not riding a moped). He tried to play through it, rather than sitting on the bench, despite being in pretty obvious pain. I just don't see how any of that reflects badly on him.

barfo

 

[riverman]

So he got injured playing basketball during the summer? What would you rather have him do during the summer? Lie in bed, like Brian Wilson did?

He got hurt playing basketball (not riding a moped). He tried to play through it, rather than sitting on the bench, despite being in pretty obvious pain. I just don't see how any of that reflects badly on him.

barfo

Thank you! Well said!

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

So he got injured playing basketball during the summer? What would you rather have him do during the summer? Lie in bed, like Brian Wilson did?

He got hurt playing basketball (not riding a moped). He tried to play through it, rather than sitting on the bench, despite being in pretty obvious pain. I just don't see how any of that reflects badly on him.

barfo

Totally agree barf. If anything, I'm wondering about the wisdom of the medical staff on this. If it was indeed bothering him in training camp from a summer injury, or was completely from the Dec fall, why didn't they take action? It seems Batum should have rested then or have been assessed thoroughly for potential surgery. Somebody dropped the ball. It has clearly been a problem for quite some time.

 

[rasheedfan2005]

if batum had rode the bench to start the season you would all be calling him a wuss. i realize we are fans and we want to win but why does the fan base always have to hate one of the players? i mean babbit deserved the hate, but batum? no. the kid has never done anything but praise portland fans in interviews and you all call for his head.

it's not like he's crawful talking to other teams pre game trying to figure out where he can go next year. kid has been a blazers his whole pro life and he's show us a lot of love.

 

[DUB]

For reference:

Sanders was suspended for pushing Nic.

 

[Draco]

It does appear Nic's nonstop play in every offseason is effecting him. Hard to know for certain but he has had a number of major to minor injuries over multiple seasons here now. It's going to hurt his market value on his next contract so if he wants to lose $20 million because of less productivity than I guess its his choice. If I were an owner I'd want better insurance options and the ability to cut a player and only pay half their salary but that's a different discussion.

Isn't a torn ligament going to take months to heal and possibly need surgery? Their aren't very good details on his prognosis but I can say the Batum we've seen the last few months is crap. If Aldridge was this ineffective I'd want him to get surgery. Aldridge looked great last night though.

I hope Nic shuts it down and gets healed now. It'll give Crabbe/Wright/CJ a chance to gain some experience and then Nic can come back for the playoffs.

 

[Draco]

This will sound negative; but as an observation I'm not sure how intelligent Nic is. At times he even seems to be a very dumb person to me. Hey the world needs ditch diggers too so I still love rooting for the guy and wish him the best. But a number of stories of his are puzzling. The problems he gets into with his ex-wife; the illogical stance's he made in free agency. Its odd because usually when a player shoots well and passes well he is regarded as a high IQ player and thus we think of him as intelligent. Maybe Nic is just a highly skilled but less intelligent individual. Am I ignorant of him being from a different culture? I don't think so but I can see where that could be the case. Maybe its because someone with his physical abilities and basketball skills seems as though they should be a superior player. Then on top of it you have career decisions such as this injury that make little sense. If LMA struggles that bad when injured for a week I bet he gets surgery right away. Nic doesn't seem to make the right choices with simple decisions.

 

[magnifier661]

This will sound negative; but as an observation I'm not sure how intelligent Nic is. At times he even seems to be a very dumb person to me. Hey the world needs ditch diggers too so I still love rooting for the guy and wish him the best. But a number of stories of his are puzzling. The problems he gets into with his ex-wife; the illogical stance's he made in free agency. Its odd because usually when a player shoots well and passes well he is regarded as a high IQ player and thus we think of him as intelligent. Maybe Nic is just a highly skilled but less intelligent individual. Am I ignorant of him being from a different culture? I don't think so but I can see where that could be the case. Maybe its because someone with his physical abilities and basketball skills seems as though they should be a superior player. Then on top of it you have career decisions such as this injury that make little sense. If LMA struggles that bad when injured for a week I bet he gets surgery right away. Nic doesn't seem to make the right choices with simple decisions.

I think Tony Parker has proven that French culture doesn't effect your decision making

 

[OneLifeToLive]

Riverman you're not going to


I'm afraid I agree with them, Riverman. It doesn't hurt to represent your country. Once every four years and maybe two. The problem is with what he has doing, he isn't getting the rest and he is not taking care of himself. This has an effect on his employer, the entity that gives him the ability and freedom to do things he does with his life. It's become of conflict of interest. Where is his priorities? His team, your team is being effected by the decisions he is making.

That shouldn't be the case.

I see there are a lot of you supporting Nick and his way of managing his biz away from the Blazers.

So some of you find nothing wrong with what I posted above then?

 

[riverman]

I see there are a lot of you supporting Nick and his way of managing his biz away from the Blazers.

So some of you find nothing wrong with what I posted above then?

As I've said, offseason these guys don't have to live in a bubble. Dirk spent a summer hiking the outback in Australia and could have gotten snakebit. Nico is basically Dame's age, he's not Tim Duncan's age. He stated that he played for team France because he love basketball and he also stays connected with up and coming players as he has invested in a team in his hometown in France. He plans to be a GM there when he retires. So what? Diversity..go to Los Angeles in the offseason and you'll find Melo, LA and lots of superstars playing pickup games all summer. Sometimes they get injured. Nico's last injury I witnessed and it wasn't playing for France. If we get this fragile about athletes, players from years and decades gone by would scoff at the idea. What bothers me most is that folks far removed from a celebratie's life think they know who, why and where about that person. A lot of these guys play pick up hoops all year round. I'd venture to say Will Barton played more off season ball then Nico.

 

[dviss1]

For reference:

Sanders was suspended for pushing Nic.

For those of you saying he got hurt playing for France, how come he isn't wearing a brace in this video?

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

I think Tony Parker has proven that French culture doesn't effect your decision making

Eva Longoria and Brent Barry both disagree.

 

[PDXFonz]

For those of you saying he got hurt playing for France, how come he isn't wearing a brace in this video?

He was wearing one of those top of the line invisible braces. I heard he spent his entire 2014-15 salary on it so that he could hide the injury from the Blazers staff. The real shocker comes when you find out that he only plays for team France so that he can get injured and rest during the NBA season.

 

[blue32]

Nah nah nah... he hurt that shit playing DDR with Oden. Derp.

 

[illmatic99]

Nothing in the article about whether just rest will heal the injury, or he needs surgery.

If it's rest, then let him sit for however long it takes. Just get healthy for the playoffs.

 

[blue32]

Nothing in the article about whether just rest will heal the injury, or he needs surgery.

If it's rest, then let him sit for however long it takes. Just get healthy for the playoffs.

I think he has to get surgery. I don't see how rest would fix it, aside from having the swelling go down. But as soon as he plays and bangs it again....it's right back where we started.

 

[BlazerWookee]

Other countries have a much smaller pool of top players to draw from, so that's only natural. Look, there's an argument to be made for not allowing NBA players to play for their national teams, but you have to be consistent. Ultimately, it comes down to whether you want to see more or less international players in the league. If the NBA didn't allow national team play, then we'd undoubtedly see fewer of them. Authoritarian countries wouldn't allow their players to sign in the NBA. No next Yao Ming or Sabonis. Players from other countries would be encouraged to play in Euro leagues so they would be available to play for their national team. No next Dirk for Cuban, no next Nic for us. No next Tony Parker or Manu...well, you get the idea.

You can't argue that NBA players should be kept from playing international ball in the summer, because the CBA specifically forbids the NBA and/or any team from even recommending that a player take the summer off.

 

[blue32]

You can't argue that NBA players should be kept from playing international ball in the summer, because the CBA specifically forbids the NBA and/or any team from even recommending that a player take the summer off.

But is there a way to opt-out of paying them in case they get injured from the result of international ball?

 

[BlazerWookee]

But is there a way to opt-out of paying them in case they get injured from the result of international ball?

I don't think so. IIUC, there's some sort of insurance coverage should a player under contract with an NBA team suffer a career-ending injury, but I'll be damned if I can find where I read that...

 

[e_blazer]

You can't argue that NBA players should be kept from playing international ball in the summer, because the CBA specifically forbids the NBA and/or any team from even recommending that a player take the summer off.

True, but Cuban has suggested that the rules should be changed in thw future.

I'm happy with the way things are now. These posts about Nic not being rested or having injuries from playing with his national team are BS, imho. These guys are highly trained athletes. They don't sit on their asses in the summer. If they're not playing for their national team, they're playing somewhere else. Play and work on your game or get left behind.

 

[WillG]

True, but Cuban has suggested that the rules should be changed in thw future.

I'm happy with the way things are now. These posts about Nic not being rested or having injuries from playing with his national team are BS, imho. These guys are highly trained athletes. They don't sit on their asses in the summer. If they're not playing for their national team, they're playing somewhere else. Play and work on your game or get left behind.

100% agree. There's plenty of other international representatives for various countries that play during the off-season. They seem to do ok, and even add to their game.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

True, but Cuban has suggested that the rules should be changed in thw future.

I'm happy with the way things are now. These posts about Nic not being rested or having injuries from playing with his national team are BS, imho. These guys are highly trained athletes. They don't sit on their asses in the summer. If they're not playing for their national team, they're playing somewhere else. Play and work on your game or get left behind.

I agree with this. But, it is probably important for some players to have the mental break, and I think Nic is one of them. His problems this year look mental more than physical to me. Tired-looking start to a lot of games, lack of urgency, not playing with energy or any kind of edge to his attitude are all signs of this.

 

[magnifier661]

True, but Cuban has suggested that the rules should be changed in thw future.

I'm happy with the way things are now. These posts about Nic not being rested or having injuries from playing with his national team are BS, imho. These guys are highly trained athletes. They don't sit on their asses in the summer. If they're not playing for their national team, they're playing somewhere else. Play and work on your game or get left behind.

There is much difference with working on your game and playing full contact professional games. Some players will take a year off to recover from a long and grueling season.

 

[BBert]

Iron Man Andre Miller never played ball in the off season. Just sayin'.

(Cool WWF name, don't you think?)