Batum and playing for France...

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via www.lequipe.fr

I’m more and more comfortable and offensively I’m attempting to do more since the All-Star Game (4.7 points and 4.2 shots before, 7.5 points, 6.2 shots after).  I hit the rookie wall in December, with five or six games without scoring (5 out of 6 games).  I was exhausted.  I hadn’t stopped since mid-August, since my arrival in Portland.  Now, playing in every game this season has become an objective for me.  Especially because I tell myself that if I miss a game it will really cost me.  At the moment, I have tendinitis in my knee, my shoulder hurts, but I play…  If you want to succeed, you know what you have to do.  And that’s to work.

via www.lequipe.fr

I work hard every day.  I must have increased my workload ten times over.  I worked like that my first professional season at Le Mans, two years ago.  But last year, unconsciously, I fell into a comfort zone.  Coming here, I started from zero all over again.  I’m better than I was last year.  Especially physically.  I’m doing everything all lot more quickly than before…  I’m compared more and more to Tayshaun Prince.  And even Scottie Pippen sometimes.  They’re great defenders, but also great players who can do a lot of things.  I don’t want to be limited to a defensive role.  Even if I’ve defended Wade, Kobe, LeBron, Tony and Nowitzki this year.  That’s my role.  From the 1 to the 4.  Except for Yao and Shaq, they’re all for me.  And I hope that that will allow me to make a big contribution to the French national team.  And I’ve already told the Blazers that this summer I’m going to play for France...  During the last days of the before the trade deadline, I had some big doubts about my future.  I often heard my name.  In fact, it was talked about a lot with Charlotte.  Portland's management told me that afterwards.  But we have a good chemistry and the decision was made to not change a winning team...  There's a lot of talent on our team.  But we aren't going to get ahead of ourselves: the objective is still to make the playoffs.  After that, we'll see.

via img.lequipe.fr

A bit more from other people about him playing for France

"I already told the Blazers that this summer I'm going to play for France" said Batum.  It remains to be seen what Portland, whom the FFBB (French Federation of Basketball) must contact, and Vincent Collet, who had launched Batum's career and gave him responsibilities at MSB (Le Mans Sarthe Basket, Batum's old French team), think of that.  "Vincent will speak with him, we know that he's interested and Nicolas is as well" explains Crawford Palmer, head of relations between the NBA and the FFBB.  "After that, there are questions about his rookie contract, knowing that a part of his salary is often linked to participation in the Summer League, where games will last from the 11th to the 19th of July" (the French team's training camp in preparation for Euro 2009 qualification begins... July 11th).  "We haven't contacted Portland yet.  We will see with the coach [McMillan] if there will be a way to release him, since he [Nate] also has two Spanish players in the same situation.  But before that we have to talk about it with Nico."  Charged with following "Les Bleus" before a meeting this weekend, Vincent Collet should then be able to identify which players are a priority, which could end up helping Batum's case.