I love to think so. His style of play certainly reminds me of Pippen. The next step would be to show some point-forward skills – I would be amazed at that.

On the other hand, one thing I really like about NBA basketball is that everyone has an individual skill set. For instance, the more I watch Joel Pryzbilla, the more I see that he plays the game in a way that only he does. And Pippen was incredibly unique (have we had a better point since he left the team?).

I’m very excited about Batum. Could be be “the next Pipp”? I don’t know, but he’s going to be real good.

Even when Roy starts to get phase down, Nic will be the man then…

As much as the athleticism is crazy— one aspect of his game I have liked since the get-go—— when he shoots a three he looks like he is shooting a layup. It’s effortless. This to me means he will have great control over the ball on a 3 point shot. + He has already shown he can hit the 3. When it’s something he is known for and has to be respected, the guys will be able to drive the lane— I can’t imagine that will be easy to gaurd.

In case you didn’t see it mentioned during one of the games on TV, MJ himself said Batum was a young Scottie Pippen.

Being as that MJ probably has an eye for the game(and dont bring up Kwame, rumor has it he didnt want to draft him after all) and played alongside Pipp for a decade+, I think he is qualified to say that. Add to that the fact that MJ’s team the Bobcats would not send Gerald Wallace to Portland unless Batum was part of the deal, I think we can be certain, this guy is gonna be BIG. even 85% of what Pippen was over that amount of time would be HUGE.

To me, the definite, part of championship starting 5 are Roy, Lamarcus and Batum. Oden’s gotta let us know if he wants to play C and PG is up in the air.

and how he improves next year, then we can estimate how good he will be. For now, he’s doing good. But he doesnt look like a major impact player in my opinion. More like a great role player.

It’s not that Nic doesn’t possess the athleticism — he does. It’s not that he doesn’t have the so-called basketball IQ — he’s got that, too. And it’s not that he doesn’t have the time to develop — he obviously has lots of that. The problem is that none of these matter in terms of becoming the next Pippen — an extraordinarily well-rounded player — if he doesn’t get the opportunity to develop the entire skill set that goes with this benchmark.

It is said, and well documented, that in just about any endeavor, athletics and otherwise, a person needs at least 10,000 hours of deliberate and purposeful “practice” to reach the pinacle of greatness (see, for example, Gladwell’s “Outliers” or Colvin’s “Talent is Overrated”). Scottie put in those hours and more on developing his multiplicity of skills. Nic is developing skills at an amazing rate, to be sure, but at nowhere near the diversity level that our “role model” developed his.

And there are related issues that will further impact the answer. For example, will Nic continue to get preferred minutes next year when Martel returns? Perhaps, but even here, Nate defines relatively limited roles for his small forwards on a team with 3 stars, and who knows what point player may come down the pike to control even more aspects of the game.

The point here is that Nic has all the elements save the most important one — the space to become a dominant multi-talented player on a team where space is at a premium, and where the head coach has just reached the point with his team where taking chances on major player development will risk championships.

Sorry to say.

I mentioned this yesterday, the way Batum compliments Roy and LMA reminds me of Gross’ role with the ’77 champs. (Keeps the ball moving, plays defense, runs the court, not a scorer (yet) but he can hit the open shot and will drive and finish if you leave him unguarded.)

Batum will likely pass Gross’ contibutions in a year or two, but right now, for this team, their roles are pretty similar