John Hollinger @johnhollinger
If Blazers really turned down 3 1sts and/or Derrick Wiliams in s/t for Batum, they're nuts.
I don't believe for one second that trade was offered
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John Hollinger @johnhollinger
If Blazers really turned down 3 1sts and/or Derrick Wiliams in s/t for Batum, they're nuts.
If he is ONLY a PF then I can understand why we would pass. But I think he can play both.
John Hollinger @johnhollinger
If Blazers really turned down 3 1sts and/or Derrick Wiliams in s/t for Batum, they're nuts.
He is a solid PF prospect, a meh SF.
If it's "and" then yes I agree. Or is a different matter. There's talk of motivation issues with Williams last season, and questions about whether he's a real SF. The picks might be low lotto to late first round depending on how well Batum does with the team. So it's not as awesome a deal (especially if it's an "or") as everyone assumes.
Williams may not shoot the most jumpers of this group—only 25% of his shots come in this form-- a far cry from Kyle Singler and Robin Benzing at 63% or Chris Singleton at 56%-- but he makes more of the jumpers he does take (56%, or 1.6 points per shot) than anyone, and not by a small margin.
Williams appears to do a great job trusting Arizona's offense and waiting for good opportunities to come to him rather than hunting shots—something that his NBA coach will surely appreciate. Williams amazingly enough only took 5 pull-up jumpers all season, representing just 1% of his total offense. Williams was indeed one of the most dangerous shot-creators in the college game amongst big men (he played almost all his minutes at Center at Arizona), scoring an outstanding 1.3 points per possession (#1) in isolation situations and getting fouled on nearly a third of his possessions (#1). By comparison, the next most effective isolation threat in this group, Kyle Singler, scored just .99 points per possession, getting to the free throw line at half the rate. None of the other first round prospects were anywhere near as effective.
From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz20jhxxWOh
http://www.draftexpress.com
There was no motivation issues with Williams, he's already dropped 18 pounds and had nose surgery.
Brian FromWA @brianfromwa
@johnhollinger I don't think anyone ever reported that. Most that ever was reported was DW OR Scrubs + 3 1sts. I'd probably take either.
Wait, is Williams a basketball player or an actress?
He's so tough his nose was broke in three spots and he didn't even know it.
There was no motivation issues with Williams, he's already dropped 18 pounds and had nose surgery.
How much of the weight loss was from the nose surgery?
Go Blazers
He's not Chelsea Clinton, for goodness' sakes.
Edit: Beat me. And with a SpaceBalls reference. Well played, sir.
Grammar nazi lol
I don't think that 3 first rounders would have been good value (I'd rather keep an overpaid Batum)... but Williams is on a rookie deal, is younger than Batum, and has massive upside. If Portland could have acquired him, I think turning that down would be/have been a mistake.
Ed O.
I really doubt he was on the table... If so, Allen's pride is why he's not a Blazer.
Actually I don't doubt it, several reputable people are suggesting that this was on the table -- Hollinger for one.
Then let the Allen hate restart anew!
All of you have trolled, so why are you any different?Well guys, I'm guessing Olshey matches right? It would be horrendous for him to come out in public saying he will and then not matching. Plus, if they weren't going to match, then they would have done a sign and trade. Looks like you guys get to keep Batum. Someone in an above post stated Pekovic was a UFA next year, but just to clarify, he is a RFA. Also, and I am asking this sincerely to someone who actually knows, what will your guys cap numbers look like after matching and having Batum @ 4 years/46.5 million for next offseason?
Also, I'm not trolling, I am just curious, do you guys think matching him is the smart move moving forward for your team? I think everyone agrees it is overpaying quite a bit. Do you think in the long run this puts Portland in a good spot to make it deep in the playoffs?