Batum interview

longtime lurker, my first post so be nice! 

I've translated an interview and a blog entry from everyone's favorite new SF, Nicolas Batum.  My translation's a bit awkward at times, and sadly I don't have the "learning english" excuse the resident Spanish translator does, but hopefully you'll all enjoy it anyway.

edit - In case nobody has read them before, I just added a pair of older interviews beneath the first two that I'd already translated.

Sept 16 interview

So, have you gotten to know Portland?
Yes, my move went well. I was a little apprehensive about my adaptation but Portland is a well organized team, very structured and since I left the airport they've held my hand. They were very welcoming. My mother hasn't arrived yet because she's waiting for her visa but it's fine because we've gotten everything very quickly. I have my house, my car, I'm settled. I wanted to do that fairly quickly to be calm and concentrate on basketball. Training camp begins soon and I wanted to arrive early to prepare myself.

What did you do this summer?
I came back from the summer league July 22nd and since then I've taken a vacation. It's good because I've had two crazy months. In fact, I didn't stop at the end of the season. During my vacation I took a little break from basketball. Since August 22nd, I've been in Portland working hard. For the moment, it's individual training and games in the morning. There's only one training session each day but for me it's actually two. From the end of September to the beginning of October there's training camp. We'll take on the pre-season the 12th and after that it begins!

What areas do you want to work on for your first season in the NBA?
My pre-season will be centered on my physique because it's going to progress very quickly. I don't have a precise objective in term of muscle gain but just become stronger, have a weight that's going to help me in a game. As a result, I lift weights for an hour and a half every day. I'm also going to work a lot on my shot. I also need to adapt to their game. There aren't many shooting positions and as soon as you get the ball you have to take a shot immediately. The game is a lot more individualistic than in Europe, which I'm not really accustomed to yet.

You already have a good shot, what more will you learn with the Blazers?
In fact, I'm learning to shoot while tired. I don't shoot at the beginning of training anymore but always after. It's really interesting and going back to the basics isn't a bad thing. I know I have a good shot but the three point line is further out and that's what I need to work on.

Your goal for this first season?
Of course I hope to get some minutes but I'm here in particular to learn a lot. It's a year of learning to really be ready for next season.

Portland's aiming for the playoffs?
Yes, that's clear. We have a very very young team, one of the most exciting this season. The experts talk about it a lot and the season previews call us one of the three teams to follow. We have the star Greg Oden, who can finally play. Rudy Fernandez, Jerryd Bayless and myself who arrive, others who need to establish themselves. It's a very exciting team, it's going to be a great season.

Where did the number 88 come from?
I wanted #5 but Rudy had already taken it. #33 was James Jones' number before leaving. And #8 was already on Webster's back. I was at the draft with my best friend and he suggested my birthday. #14 (he was born December 14th 1988) wasn't very fun so I decided on 88.

As you can see through events like the Adidas NBA 5IVE Tour, the NBA really is something else?
It has nothing to do with the Pro A [top French league]. It's another world. It's a show but above all it's a business. I think that that the sporting side has been neglected, except when the playoffs start. The "show" part is emphasized but that's just the way it is. And besides it's fun and exciting!

So are you going to loosen up more [embrace the "show" part of the NBA]?
I think that it's going to come in time. I was already beginning to let loose with Le Mans at the end of the season in the last 3 or four games. In the NBA, the game and the atmosphere encourage you to express yourself more because those are very often the plays that make the highlights. This year, I especially want to watch and next year I'll let loose.

Is your Euroleague experience a real plus in the NBA?
In the Euroleague, I learned about the difficulty facing old veterans. The NBA isn't the same as a the Euroleague but I'm sure that it will help guys like me or Gallinari.

Last year, you had big responsibilities with Le Mans, in Portland that's going to be very different.
My first professional season with MSB [Le Mans Sarthe Basket], I was nothing. I got the crumbs left over from Kenny Gregory, who was the star of the team. That's a bit of what I'm going to do this year in Portland. I know how it works. I'm only 19 and I still have time. If I blow up in four years [even if it takes me 4 years to reach my potential], it's not the end of the world because I'll only be 23. I have the time to progress.

and the blog, written a few days before the preseason opener

I've been in Portland since August 22nd and since I've only had 3 days off when I went to Paris for the NBA 5five Adidas. Otherwise it's work, weights, shooting, and weights, almost 8 hours a day. Even at the Rookie Transition program (where there were the three stoners ) I practiced with Alexis.

But anyway since Monday, the preseason began with training camp. It's crazy how haaaaarrrrrddd it is. We run everywhere, all the time. Basically, a typical day, it's 10 am - 12 pm and 6 pm – 7:30 pm. But for me, it's 8 am - 1 pm and 4 – 9 p, so I'm exhausted, but I have to do it, I can only succeed like that. Basically, it's 8-8:30 shooting and dribbling, 8:30-9:30 weights, and 9:30-10 shooting. Then, the team training and, from noon to 1pm shooting, shooting, and shooting. The afternoon is similar. After a good nap, 4-5pm weights, 5-6pm dribbling and shooting and after the team training I spend another hour on my shot. And it's like that every day.

Last Tuesday we had the famous conditioning test, it was hard! You have to run the length of the court 10 times (or 5 there and back) in under a minute but you have 5 sets with 2 minutes of rest between each one. I did : 55 sec, 57 sec, 59 sec et 60 sec. I was really happy to have succeeded because 6 out of 16 players succeeded. Overall, my time was +9 sec (5+3+1+0) but the record was set by Sergio Rodriguez : + 21 sec.

As for the team training, we constantly work on defense, because certainly we're a very young and talented team, but if we defend like were sick, things won't go well. That's why coach McMillan talks to us a lot about Boston last year or the Spurs. Personally, they want me to be a defensive player because they find that I understand the game and the movement of players well. That's why I only defend Rudy, Outlaw, and especially B-Roy. He's very, very good, it's crazy, but it's good it makes me progress a great deal.

Otherwise in general, everything's good. I get along with everyone. Especially with the 2 Spaniards and Oden. Yes, nobody believes me when I say that we were born the same year ;-). He's really a chill guy and as I sit next to him in the locker room, we get along well. Among the players that have impressed me, there's Brandon Roy the All-Star, he has an enormous amount of confidence in himself and an impressive level of maturity, and he's a true leader. But aside from B-Roy, the player who's impressed me the most is LaMarcus Aldridge, alias L.A.12. He's reached a level already impressive enough it won't take him long to be an All-Star. He can do everything at the 4, he's mobile like Garnett. Together with Oden they can cause some damage in the years to come, and even quicker then you'd think.

More personally, the coaches want me to play my game, that I take my shots and that I defend hard. Friday we had a scrimmage between us..... in front of 15,000 people and I finished best stealer with 4 defending Roy for 20 minutes. Coach McMillan really appreciated my commitment and my desire, especially in defense and on offensive rebounds. My stats : 6 points (3-8, 0-2 from three), 6 rebounds 4 of which were offensive, 2 assists and 4 steals in 24 minutes. But my team lost by 6 points, 74-68 and LA12 was picked as MVP. But for my first game with my new team, I'm satisfied with myself, especially that the players really went for the win to the end.

Overall, I like the world of the NBA that I'm discovering little by little, and that's why I'm working hard every day so that I don't go (like I hear a lot in France....) to the D-league. I don't want to have any regrets. Voila for the instant, see you soon.

June 27

Nicolas Batum experienced a fairly irritating evening, Thursday at the organized draft at Madison Square Garden. While he was imagining himself with the San Antonio Spurs, he was chosen 25th by Houston before being traded several minutes later with Portland. The disappointment over, the ex-Manceau (Le Mans) remains positive. "It's the second best choice for me."

Nicolas Batum, you were drafted by Houston, and finally it's Portland where you will put down your suit cases.
Yes, that's it. In fact, I think that before taking me, Houston had made a deal with Portland to trade a Blazer for me.

You were expected at a lower slot, with San Antonio.
It's true that that's the strategy we had put in place with my agent. We didn't really care about the place (exact draft position) because when I met the Spurs' staff, Greg Popovich proposed things which interested me. They told me that they wanted to put me in the rotation as soon as next year because there are aging wings. They really wanted to put me in the rotation so that I would be one of the principal wings in one or two years. My objective, it's really to go to San Antonio. It was just a pick away from happening and it's a bit of a shame.

One sensed you were disappointed when you heard your name.
A little, it's true. But now the game (situation) in Portland is very interesting. Portland is a very young team, with lots of players from my generation, and I think that there will be very good times (?) next year.

How did the draft happen for you, at the side of Alexis Ajinca?
The paradox for me in the draft is that at each pick, I was praying to not be taken...waiting for the 26th! It's paradoxical because everyone wants to be picked high, while personally I was praying to not be taken until 26... and I was taken at 25! It's too bad but oh well, it's not serious. For me now the important thing is that Portland is a good team, it's really interesting for young players. I believe that it's the second best choice for me.

What are you going to bring to the Blazers?
My energy, my general sense of the game. As it's a very young team, I'm going to try to fit in the mold (?) to truly take advantage of this experience.

August 19th

Since the end of last season, Nicolas Batum's future is in the NBA.  The player came to say goodbye to his old teammates. Nicolas Batum, now with Portland, spent yesterday at Antarès to say goodbye to his old friends at Le Mans Sarthe Basket. The young nineteen-year-old, who arrived at MSB in 2003 and has been a professional since 2006, will leave for the United States next Thursday [8/21].

What did you make of the draft?
I had very good workouts before the heart problem story. In fact, the tests were good but old familial concerns were at the heart of the problem (an incident which could have ruined Batum's future in the NBA). I envisaged pulling out of the draft and returning to France. In the end, I ended up 25th in the draft when I was thinking of being picked 15th. Now, the hardest part starts. The first year I'll have to bare my teeth and impose myself.

You opinion of Greg Oden, of Alexis Ajinça?
Greg is a very large player. Physically, he'll contribute a lot. In two years, he'll be one of the best post players in the NBA. As for Alexis, I hope the transition won't be too difficult for him. He has a very good coach. I'm not worried. He has the size and physique to manage.

Are you already in Portland?
No. I was over there for a week in July after the draft. Everyone was very welcoming. I chose my apartment, I'll move in next week.

Your judgment of the team?
Its weakness is its lack of experience. That makes you think about last year. The team was enthusiastic, there's a good coach. Last season, they just missed the playoffs.  It's up to us to show our fangs in the face of the big teams. The strength of the team is that it plays fearlessly, it's not afraid of anyone. We'll go all out every match.

You turned down the French team?
...I had to refuse. I felt guilty about not being there. I wanted to play, but I reluctantly refused because I had to prepare for the season; the first year in the NBA is essential.