Batum is a nice piece for them. They need to go with Frank because they could be looking quite thin up front this summer.
Oh yeah. That just sealed the deal on..... LMA getting the eff out of there. Holy crap what are they thinking? They must know everyone is bolting.
What is Portland going to do at the wing? This time next month they could be without Batum, Matthews, and Afflalo
I forgot Vonleh existed only a year after he was a top 10 pick, and considered top 5 by some. He still might be good, but I think that goes to show that the draft is freakin tough in the moment and only so much easier to tear apart in hindsight. And yeah, I don't really get the trade, seems like pieces moving around for the sake of it.
Seems like Aldridge insurance (he's definitely leaving) and Batum had a really bad year. There was chatter they were sick of him for a long time. Henderson is actually not a terrible replacement for either Batum or Wes Matthews both of whom could be gone.
yeah, the blazers are rebuilding. i think it's smart though, to rebuild them with damian as their leader. there was a weird leader-balance with damian/lamarcus, with lamarcus gone, it's clearly damian. henderson and vonleh are pretty good young pieces anyway. mj, what are you doing? not criticizing... just wondering. do you want to remain in mediocrity forever?
Vonleh was always viewed as a project but I was never impressed. He's got talent locked away in there but I haven't seen enough for me to think he's got a future. Man MJ has a really bad scouting department over there...
Portland had a good thing going, a few pieces away from contending and now looks like they are rebuilding. Any players we can possibly snag from them?
Well when one of your pieces just walks out the door, it's a big deal for small market teams. They were built on two poles and now one of 'em is gone! The crazy thing is Mattews is a FA, Afflalo is a FA, they traded away Batum, and Aldridge is a FA... Those are all the guys I wanted from Portland. We can just go get 'em ourselves. If all those guys leave Portland, I think we could slide into their playoff spot.
Any real reason why LMA just decided to up and leave? If Portland really do get rid of some of their talent that opens up a playoff spot we can fight for. That's being really optimist though but how crazy will that be? From bottom of the league to the playoffs.
Well if we swept up Aldridge it wouldn't be too crazy. A #2 pick, a max player, Randle, AND Clarkson. Oh and Kobe is still around. There's other young guys like Brown and Black and Kelly too? That's a solid squad. Not great, but solid. I think Aldridge was unhappy with how quickly Lillard supplanted him as the face of the franchise. He felt like he wasn't as important and I think he really wants to see what else is out there. He's been up in Portland for a long time. I think he's curious about the rest of the teams.
Batum shot the ball like crap for most of the season because of a wrist injury ... that being said I've seen little improvment from him through the years ... He can't get to the next level because of his poor ballhandling skills . As a French , I can tell you he often talks the talk but rarely walks the walk too ...
Yeah I liked Batum a year or two ago when it looked like he'd continue developing, but he never did. Still though if he's healthy he's a good 3&D player. His contract won't look so bad under the new CBA. Decent pickup for the Hornets.
