Nic seems ok to be in Portland

[Wizard Mentor]

Now we just need to get Pavlovic, Papanikolaou, and Printezis on the roster, LOL. And bring back Patty. The Four P's.

To go along with Lillard, LeMarcus, and Leonard. Of course, I see that now.

Instead of Patty, how about Paul, then add a little LeBron.....

 

[Wizard Mentor]

As suspected, it sounds like the truth was somewhere in the middle of Olshey & Kahn's comments. He did want to be in Minnesota due to the coaching staff, New Orleans he'd have liked as well. But he also wanted to be back here, feels like home, and if he was an UFA he said he's not sure he would have gone to Minnesota instead of Portland. Either situation would have been good, so he knew he was going to win either way.

Mentioned he was actually unsure that Portland would match because it was such a high number, but the fact they did shows they really believe in him. Better contract than he expected.

Wasn't unhappy with Nate, just the fact they were losing was frustrating. Nate is the one who put him on the court and believed in him his rookie year.

Knows he's now the #2 guy, just like he is w/ French team behind TP, and needs to be more of a leader. Trusts they'll bring in a good coach.


My opinion - We'll probably never know exactly what went on but I honestly don't care if we weren't his first choice or not, because he's not going to be a problem and he seems happy to be here.

Good Summary. It did seem like he was being attacked by the press, I'm sure he was happy when the press conference was over.

 

[illmatic99]

I at least appreciate his honesty.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Now we just need to get Pavlovic, Papanikolaou, and Printezis on the roster, LOL. And bring back Patty. The Four P's.

For no other reason than to hear Rice pronounce them

 

[BBert]

For no other reason than to hear Rice pronounce them

That was my thinking. I can't think of another reason.

 

[tlongII]

As suspected, it sounds like the truth was somewhere in the middle of Olshey & Kahn's comments. He did want to be in Minnesota due to the coaching staff, New Orleans he'd have liked as well. But he also wanted to be back here, feels like home, and if he was an UFA he said he's not sure he would have gone to Minnesota instead of Portland. Either situation would have been good, so he knew he was going to win either way.

Mentioned he was actually unsure that Portland would match because it was such a high number, but the fact they did shows they really believe in him. Better contract than he expected.

Wasn't unhappy with Nate, just the fact they were losing was frustrating. Nate is the one who put him on the court and believed in him his rookie year.

Knows he's now the #2 guy, just like he is w/ French team behind TP, and needs to be more of a leader. Trusts they'll bring in a good coach.


My opinion - We'll probably never know exactly what went on but I honestly don't care if we weren't his first choice or not, because he's not going to be a problem and he seems happy to be here.

He's actually the #3 guy now.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

He's actually the #3 guy now.

He doesn't know that yet.

Of course, LMA thinks he's first option

 

[mook]

It's a good read. But realistically, Batum isn't going to be the #2 option this year. Lillard will be. In fact, Lillard may wind up being the #1 option, as strange as that sounds when you already have a veteran All-Star power forward.

Lillard will have the ball, and the first priority of every team he faces is going to be to prevent DL from scoring. Once that happens, there will be plenty of opportunities for Aldridge and Batum. I won't be surprised to see both of those guys have higher FG% and maybe even more points. But that's going to be because Lillard creates those numbers for them.

When it comes to asserting leadership, Nic and LMA had their chance to really own this team last year. They are good players, but they just aren't natural leaders. By All-Star break we're going to be talking about this as Lillard's team.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

It's a good read. But realistically, Batum isn't going to be the #2 option this year. Lillard will be. In fact, Lillard may wind up being the #1 option, as strange as that sounds when you already have a veteran All-Star power forward.

Lillard will have the ball, and the first priority of every team he faces is going to be to prevent DL from scoring. Once that happens, there will be plenty of opportunities for Aldridge and Batum. I won't be surprised to see both of those guys have higher FG% and maybe even more points. But that's going to be because Lillard creates those numbers for them.

When it comes to asserting leadership, Nic and LMA had their chance to really own this team last year. They are good players, but they just aren't natural leaders. By All-Star break we're going to be talking about this as Lillard's team.

very well put, I absolutely agree.

Lillard reminds me of Roy - not because of the way he plays:

Roy coming out of college: Not more damn box-and-1, NBA is EASIER.
Lillard coming out of college: I now have THREE teammates to pass to instead of ZERO, NBA is EASIER.

and, to make it relevant to this thread, Nic's response will be "I am definitely OK with Portland!"

 

[Rhal]

It's a good read. But realistically, Batum isn't going to be the #2 option this year. Lillard will be. In fact, Lillard may wind up being the #1 option, as strange as that sounds when you already have a veteran All-Star power forward.

Lillard will have the ball, and the first priority of every team he faces is going to be to prevent DL from scoring. Once that happens, there will be plenty of opportunities for Aldridge and Batum. I won't be surprised to see both of those guys have higher FG% and maybe even more points. But that's going to be because Lillard creates those numbers for them.

When it comes to asserting leadership, Nic and LMA had their chance to really own this team last year. They are good players, but they just aren't natural leaders. By All-Star break we're going to be talking about this as Lillard's team.

The first priority of every team is going to be to stop LMA. No one is going to set up there defense to stop a rookie when LMA is on the floor.

 

[Sedatedfork]

The first priority of every team is going to be to stop LMA. No one is going to set up there defense to stop a rookie when LMA is on the floor.

Rule #1 on defense is to stop the ball.

 

[Mediocre Man]

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Back On Topic: Nic loves Portland and what we've done for him, Fans love Nic because he's a nice guy, stays out of trouble, and says he loves PDX, which is all any Blazer has to do for fan approval here - this is not NY.