Batum trade revisited

[AquaXI]

If you can help out a newbie. My Sons favorite Blazer was Batum and says we got fleeced on this trade. I'm in Hawaii and we don't get much TV on the blazers but do keep up with the Net on how they are doing. Still without much seeing with the eye ball test it's hard to assess. How do you all feel about the trade at this point? After watching Henderson and Vonlehs play. Why could we not have kept Batum instead and offer him an appropriate contract for his play? Thank you in advance for the response!

 

[KingSpeed]

I like the trade. Batum was pretty awful last year and could've left after this year for nothing. Henderson and Vonleh are both playing their roles nicely and Vonleh has star potential. I wouldn't reverse the trade.

 

[Natebishop3]

1. Batum is going to get maxed this summer, and I think he was going to leave. Do we really want to go through another Aldridge situation?

2. Vonleh is so young and raw. He could still end up vastly better than Batum.

 

[AquaXI]

Thanks KingAlbertoJrSpeed, Natebishop3! Exactly what I was trying to explain to him, about Batum leaving without compensation and his up and down play. Apparently he is doing well at his new home but off course it's his contract year. Hard to reason with a 21 year old who sees his favorite player through Rose colored glasses.

 

[dviss1]

I may be in the minority here, but I would love to have Nico back. I think he would be perfect for our current team.

 

[kjironman1]

Another thing was his Euro play. He would simply not stop playing all summer which of course is his prerogative. The problem was nagging injuries that never seemed to heal and his play suffered. Like has been pointed out he had a good year so he will most likely get paid well. He will also be playing all Summer to cover the Olympics for France. There are of course U.S. Players that will play also but to compare the load Batum carries on his team with that of the U.S. Players would be a lopsided affair to say the least.
He very likely would have left any way but to keep him would most certainly have cost the Blazers dearly and my bet is the real Nic Batum will be back starting next November with a shiny new contract and nagging injuries with on and off again play.....

 

[Rastapopoulos]

No question that Charlotte won that trade for this year. But I think the thought was that this year was a throwaway. Complaints about Batum getting maxed are complaints about the new money. We're going to be paying somebody obscene money and probably somebody not as good as Batum. Batum is certainly having fun essentially playing PG for Charlotte - he's probably happier.

Henderson has been much better than I thought, but is still older than the rest of the team and not exactly versatile. Vonleh continues to be a big bag of "meh". Cue people pointing out how young he is. Woo-woo.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Vonleh continues to be a big bag of "meh". Cue people pointing out how young he is. Woo-woo.

Don't forget about his HUGE HANDS!

 

[craigehlo]

The trade was a wash. We got a couple nice players, but opening up the SF spot to Aminu really was the improvement. I doubt this team is in the playoff with Batum as a starter.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

The trade was a wash. We got a couple nice players, but opening up the SF spot to Aminu really was the improvement. I doubt this team is in the playoff with Batum as a starter.

Not to mention Harkless. He's emerging as someone who could be a special player in a couple years. Wouldn't be seeing that if Batum were still here.

So if we look at it as Batum for Henderson/Vonleh/Aminu/Harkless--we win!

 

[ChadWick]

Not to mention Harkless. He's emerging as someone who could be a special player in a couple years. Wouldn't be seeing that if Batum were still here.

So if we look at it as Batum for Henderson/Vonleh/Aminu/Harkless--we win!

I love Harkless now dude. I see harkless being our new Wes Matthews type player, and Vonleh is meh now. I think his ceiling is LMA, but no clue if he'll get there. Too early, but he does show flashes. Hendo has definitely been better than I expected, fun to watch but we all know he's probably not in the long term future plans.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Part of the advantage of trading for Batum was to get salary cap space - we didn't use it.

More Questions than answers:

• If we never use it profitably, then it's probably going to be a bad trade. Are we going to use it? On who?
  
• Will Hendo leave, or require enough salary to nullify the cap space we have?
• Vonleh looks a ways away from being an average NBA player, let alone one on Batum's level. Will he ever get there? Personally, I think the chance are good that he becomes an average NBA player (think PER of 15) - better than that? Possibly, but unlikely.
• Is the sacrifice worth it? We would have been better THIS year if we had kept Batum. If we lose our first round series by a point or two, points toward big sacrifice. If we win, or if we lose badly, points toward small sacrifice.

 

[BBert]

I may be in the minority here, but I would love to have Nico back. I think he would be perfect for our current team.

I think we both are. He'd be a good fit if we could get him back.

Since that's probably not going to happen, I hope Harkless makes me change my mind next season.

 

[blue9]

We got hosed on the trade. The only player we got in return was Henderson - Vonleh is a massive project. I think we could have gotten MUCH better value for Nic at the trade deadline than we got in the Henderson/Vonleh trade. Or we could have kept Nic and been a much better team battling for the #3 seed.

Imagine if we didn't trade Barton for Afflalo or Nic for Henderson. Barton could fill the scoring role that Henderson provides (if not the defense/stability), and Nic is light years better than Aminu. We'd be a MUCH better team if we hadn't made those trades. Even if we had made the Barton/Afflalo trade, Neil probably could have found a Henderson-equivalent player.

But until Vonleh is a major force as a starting PF there is no spin that makes the trade a win for us.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Batum is certainly having fun essentially playing PG for Charlotte - he's probably happier.

.

I agree with this part. The thing is with a back court of Dame and CJ.....we don't need our SF playing PG, we need him playing SF. Nic is a very good ball handler for a 3, and that is always a plus, but he is still not as good as our two combo guards. We need the ball in their hands as much as possible. Would CJ and Dame be as effective playing with Nic the ball handler? Is Nic as effective without the ball in his hands?

If the answer is yes, then offer him a max contract this summer. If he is not worth the max this summer, than yes it was a good trade for us.

 

[BBert]

Another thing was his Euro play. He would simply not stop playing all summer which of course is his prerogative. The problem was nagging injuries that never seemed to heal and his play suffered. Like has been pointed out he had a good year so he will most likely get paid well. He will also be playing all Summer to cover the Olympics for France. There are of course U.S. Players that will play also but to compare the load Batum carries on his team with that of the U.S. Players would be a lopsided affair to say the least.
He very likely would have left any way but to keep him would most certainly have cost the Blazers dearly and my bet is the real Nic Batum will be back starting next November with a shiny new contract and nagging injuries with on and off again play.....

Some players can handle that extra load, physically and mentally, better than others. Batum I don't believe is one who's body stood up well to the physical rigors of year-round competitive basketball, year after year after year after year....

 

[B-Roy]

The trade was a wash. We got a couple nice players, but opening up the SF spot to Aminu really was the improvement. I doubt this team is in the playoff with Batum as a starter.

You can't be serious?

 

[dviss1]

The trade was a wash. We got a couple nice players, but opening up the SF spot to Aminu really was the improvement. I doubt this team is in the playoff with Batum as a starter.

I disagree wholeheartedly.

 

[dviss1]

I agree with this part. The thing is with a back court of Dame and CJ.....we don't need our SF playing PG, we need him playing SF. Nic is a very good ball handler for a 3, and that is always a plus, but he is still not as good as our two combo guards. We need the ball in their hands as much as possible. Would CJ and Dame be as effective playing with Nic the ball handler? Is Nic as effective without the ball in his hands?

If the answer is yes, then offer him a max contract this summer. If he is not worth the max this summer, than yes it was a good trade for us.

How's that work for Golden State when they have Draymond running the offense? Imagine CJ and Dame running off picks.... That's a problem. It's why GS is so hard to matchup with.

 

[Spud147]

Keep in mind this trade was done before Aldridge bolted. Remember LaMarcas had kind of called Nic (or at least we thought he was talking about Batuum) out (on Twitter?) about his effort. I think a big part of that trade was to try and convince LaMarcus to stay with the promise we'd improve that position.

 

[blue9]

Keep in mind this trade was done before Aldridge bolted. Remember LaMarcas had kind of called Nic (or at least we thought he was talking about Batuum) out (on Twitter?) about his effort. I think a big part of that trade was to try and convince LaMarcus to stay with the promise we'd improve that position.

Just goes to show that GMs shouldn't kowtow to players who think they know better. And that was a very pot/kettle statement from LMA.
I really hope Neil didn't trade Nic as a way of placating LMA - if so that's yet another strike against him as a GM.

 

[RR7]

I'm always kind of surprised when fans, here and elsewhere, seem to think batum has improved this year over the years he was "held back"in Portland. I guess people maybe just look and see a scoring increase and assume as much? Across the board, a good majority of his numbers are at or below his career averages.

I still like him, and I'd take him back, but I don't see a need to spend max money on a sf. Especially a sf we've had here previously who is the same player he was. If we're going to overpay, I'd at least like potential upside. Otherwise, not worth it.

 

[riverman]

If you can help out a newbie. My Sons favorite Blazer was Batum and says we got fleeced on this trade. I'm in Hawaii and we don't get much TV on the blazers but do keep up with the Net on how they are doing. Still without much seeing with the eye ball test it's hard to assess. How do you all feel about the trade at this point? After watching Henderson and Vonlehs play. Why could we not have kept Batum instead and offer him an appropriate contract for his play? Thank you in advance for the response!

I always felt that Lamarcus wanted him gone and Olshey wanted a contingency plan at 2 positions...I think it was a great trade

 

[Rastapopoulos]

The trade was a wash. We got a couple nice players, but opening up the SF spot to Aminu really was the improvement. I doubt this team is in the playoff with Batum as a starter.

You seriously think that this team is better with Aminu rather than Batum? That's... a bold assertion.

 

[Pinwheel1]

How's that work for Golden State when they have Draymond running the offense? Imagine CJ and Dame running off picks.... That's a problem. It's why GS is so hard to matchup with.

I don't think Klay is as good as CJ at running the offense. He is mostly catching and shooting. Similar to Wes last year.
So letting Draymond run the offense works as it did with Batum without CJ starting.

Plus GS is a master at the moving pick. We don't get a way with it.
And Draymond attacks the basket way more than Batum does. That is what is hard to math up with. He shoots three's and attacks.
And Green also sets screens better than Batum.

Draymond is much more versatile than Batum IMO.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Not to mention Harkless. He's emerging as someone who could be a special player in a couple years. Wouldn't be seeing that if Batum were still here.

Assuming that Aminu has replaced Batum and they (i.e., Aminu and Harkless) are starting together, how'd'you figure? We wouldn't be seeing that if Leonard stayed healthy, more like. Or if Vonleh was any use at all.

 

[riverman]

You seriously think that this team is better with Aminu rather than Batum? That's... a bold assertion.

Thing is, Batum is a free agent, so possibly you could end up with Henderson, Vonleh, Aminu and Batum next season if Stotts wanted him. I think Stotts knows what he wants pretty much. We didn't let Batum walk for nothing...big plus Aminu is on a real friendly contract..a fraction of Nic's and he's a lot younger than Nic too.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Batum was my fave Blazer. I was (as some might recall) VIOLENTLY opposed to the trade at the time. This wore off a little as the ENTIRE TEAM EXPLODED shortly thereafter, but as the team actually did better than expected it returned to rankling, because we could be even better with Batum, and as we're missing out on a draft pick by creeping into the playoffs, why not try to excel?

 

[Orion Bailey]

Just goes to show that GMs shouldn't kowtow to players who think they know better. And that was a very pot/kettle statement from LMA.
I really hope Neil didn't trade Nic as a way of placating LMA - if so that's yet another strike against him as a GM.

What are the others? For a guy up for GM of the year, This statement is somewhat puzzling...

And if he was, Why is that a strike? You have to pay attention to your best players and their wants/needs. If LMA would have stayed, would you still consider it a strike?

 

[Orion Bailey]

Thing is, Batum is a free agent, so possibly you could end up with Henderson, Vonleh, Aminu and Batum next season if Stotts wanted him. I think Stotts knows what he wants pretty much. We didn't let Batum walk for nothing...big plus Aminu is on a real friendly contract..a fraction of Nic's and he's a lot younger than Nic too.

And Aminu has been WAY better than Nic lately.