Fernandez v. Batum

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?

Nicolas Batum. Easiest question of the offseason. His athleticism and defense are marvelous, and add in a year of seasoning… a SF is born.

I have higher hopes for Rudy, since he’s a much more polished player.

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?

Nicolas Batum. Brandon Roy is the man at shooting guard until 2020. Nic has the potential to be the SF of our title runs, and that’s a little bit more important than the sixth man.

Nic will be our perimeter defender, fast-break wiz, and slasher. Looking at other European three point percentages in rookie years (Peja, Dirk, Manu) we can probably expect some improvement in his shooting as well.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it? (No fudging!)

Nicolas Batum.

more excited to see develop next year?: Rudy. I wanna see the Rudy from the olympics. Badly! I remember Totally freaking out watching the spain us game. Watching him put that team on his back for a quarter was just so exciting.

greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? I think Batum Has a much better chance at contributing more. Seeing as he is being groomed to be a starter. And rudy will never start here unless there is an injury or something.
Batum Will have a full offensive Arsenal in a couple of years , given that and his desire to play defense makes him more valuble i think.

can only keep one. Which one is it? Batum.

Would you ask me to choose between my two children? I refuse to pick one of these bright lights over the other. And I wouldn’t CONSIDER trading either of ’em. For shame, Dave!

1. Batum, Rudy

2. Batum-His potential is too great. He will be the lockdown defender that the Blazers so desperately need. Rudy is in a sticky situation position wise and Nic just seems to fit in with the core players.

3. Batum-Rudy ain’t gonna be defending LeBron for the next 10 years!

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?
Batum – Batum

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?
Batum has the full skill-set to be a great SF. And, he makes all the team players on the floor with him… better.
Rudy is a SG and not a SF. If he improves greatly, Rudy will push Roy for more minutes which may lead to him being traded.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it? Batum

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?

Batum because I think he has further to go before he hits his ceiling. People laud his defense, but I think he has shown flashes of some offensive chops. Getting to the right spots. Not needing the ball, but coming up big on the extra pass. I think he has the tools to improve his scoring game, which I why I am more excited for his sophomore year, rather than Rudy, who already has a pretty polished game

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?

Tougher. I commented earlier about the necessity of having a stopper at the 3 in todays NBA, so Batum wins by a hair. I also agree that Rudy is more likely to be traded.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it?

I would say Rudy, but only if Brandon Roy didn’t exist (which would be sad), so Batum again.

Note: Is anyone else kind of surprised how heavily all these comments are favoring Nicolas? But I guess I actually can play favorites.

1. More excited to see Rudy develop this next year. With Martell back, then we’ll hopefully see Rudy as more of a slasher and driver then just the team’s only spot up shooter by default.

2. Long term, it’s tough, but I see a definite role for Nic that will always be there if he continues to develop. He is a solid defender in a league where there is a shortage of defensive stoppers.

3. If I keep one I’d keep Nic because he’s great value and fills a need for the team. Rudy’s also got way more value in a trade situation. I doubt the blazer management will ever part with Rudy though. He’s a cash cow, fan fav, and the reason millions internationally care about this team. Same reason the Mariners will never trade Ichiro

He has the tools to become the Blazers most dangerous weapon on offense. A quickshooting, athletic player who can be an emotional leader and dominate opposing players with his swagger and steal their girlfriends with his smile. Next year Rudy won’t have his mid-season slump and continue shooting at a high rate and could potentially be the leading scorer off the bench. I think he is more valuable to the Blazers organization and perfectly fits their time fram for a championship run. His ‘clutchness’ and ability to hit big shots, which every playoff game comes down to, will make him more valuable to the team.

also, I would keep Batum because like others have said, sorry Rudy we already got Brandon.

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?
              Batum if because of his defense and if he becomes a well rounded players he has the right body to make this team great. Immediate hopes would go to Batum because he already has good defense and he could develop a good offense fairly quickly I would hope. His body might take a few years to develop but the quicker he gets going the quicker we start dominating. Rudy is already good and I think he rightfully won the Blazers rookie of the year, he can spread the floor and

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?
        Again as has been mentioned Rudy isn’t in the right position SG so Batum has the more chance to contribute then Rudy. The Rudy 3 percentage if it goes to 45% + he and he continues to shoot a large number I would feel he could really open the offense up even more for the bigs, but he would have to reach a really high number for his offensive numbers to out weigh batums defensive presence.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it? (No fudging!)
         Batum hasn’t shown as much as Rudy has so I would have to choose Batum for potential and Rudy for what he has given us. MMMMM good fudge.

If you’d like you can add a fourth question: What would it take in return to pry either of these guys from you today?
           For Rudy I would take Rubio, CP3, deron williams and devin harris obviously these trades would involve other players as well

Rudy
Rudy

1. Nicolas Batum
2. Nicolas Batum
3. Nicolas Batum

Now, for the fourth question, here’s a previous comment of mine.

“After the July moratorium, re-sign Raef LaFrentz to a three-year, $16.65 million contract (i.e., $5.55 annually) — with only the first season including a guaranteed salary — and trade him in conjuction with LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Fernandez to the Toronto Raptors for Chris Bosh.”

Regarding Rudy Fernandez, I’d happily trade him elsewhere for the acquisition of a true #2 superstar to pair with Brandon Roy. If Roy, Chris Bosh, and the developing Greg Oden were the Portland Trail Blazers’ core — so long as Bosh agreed to sign a contract extension immediately after the proposed deal went down — then this team would be legitimate championship contenders.

Rudy is quite clearly the better, more polished player right now. Nicolas has the potential to be a first rate defender and I believe he can be a strong offensive player as well— a two way star in the mold of Tayshaun Prince. Potential is exciting.

If I can only keep 1, I would trade Rudy— who plays the same position as the Blazers’ best player and has enough value that he could plausibly help fetch the Blazers a player to put them over the top.

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?

Next year I’m more excited to see what new skill Batum adds to his game. The higher immediate hopes are for Rudy, but that’s just because I expected a lot of him right away, and got a lot from him right away.

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?

Right now I’d have to go with Rudy Fernandez. He’s quite simply the better player. Potential is a very dangerous thing, as a lot of us can attest to. Rudy already is one of the 50 best perimeter players in the league, and last year he was just a rookie. Add in the that Roy can play either wing position, and plays especially well when on the court with Rudy, and you have a dynamic force waiting to go (hopefully Rudy can continue to be the 6th man).

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it? (No fudging!)

You keep Rudy because you know what you have, and it’s pretty extensive all the skills and abilities he brings to a basketball court. Batum might someday be the better player, but you can’t take it to the bank like you can with Rudy. Batum is awesome, but even long term, I just don’t see him shutting down LBJ which we’re at some point going to need to do.

4. What would it take in return to pry either of these guys from you today?

For Rudy it’s very simple. I need to get a franchise point guard. There are 8 that I’d use Rudy in a package to get. (CP3, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo, Tony Parker, Devin Harris, Derrick Rose, Ricky Rubio, John Wall’s rights)…

For Batum I’d have to make sure I’d acquired Trevor Ariza or some like player (elite young defensive minded SF), and I’d basically want the same sort of point guard.

guy reminds me of Scottie Pippen, and I said that before Mike Rice did.

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?

I think Rudy needs to become the thrid scorer for us next year. Nic will always bring his defence and good play put I think for next year to be a success, Rudy needs to become a more reliable offensive threat.

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?

Nicky… starting small forward forever. I agree he just looks like he could be a Scottie Pippen type player… our best perimeter defender and someone who makes the rest of the team better.
Rudy is possibly destined to be our sixth man as long as Roy is healthy. I think they’ll both be key players but Nic’s starting so he gets the vote.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it? (No fudging!)

I think Nic.
1, because he plays a problem area for us which Rudy doesn’t.
2, Rudy (I think) has better value around the league.
3, Rudy might want a larger role on the team which might not be possible.

4. What would it take in return to pry either of these guys from you today?

As other have said before… they would have to bring back a borderline all-star point guard.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it? (No fudging!)

I am more excited to see Rudy develop this year, as he has the chance to become a really dynamic scorer. but think that if I had to choose only one it would be Batum. The kid is money, a true baller already, and only 20. He has a chance to become truly great. Michael Jordan himself, unprovoked by any question asked, said he thinks Nic is going to be special, and that he reminds him if a young Scottie Pippen.

at which point I screeched and said unprintable things about Dave.

I love watching the way Rudy moves without the ball. It’s something we haven’t seen for a long time. Dave used the word “flair” – which is also a trait we haven’t seen for awhile. Flair & grace combined – I love to see him finish off the alley oop , There’s just so much to love about Rudy.

However, there is that small problem of minutes. I’d guess he’s not going to be happy playing behind Roy for too much longer.

I know there was hope that Brandon could become our PG and Rudy be promoted to starter, but that’s not going to happen. I remember when KP and others went over to Spain to watch him play they commented that they were surprised to see he had some real PG skills. Now that would be ideal, if Rudy could up his PG skills it would solve three problems – that logjam, the PG problem, and his future.

Because of his flash and dash, Rudy will probably always be worth more than Nic in a trade. I’d hate to see him go in the next couple of years, but if Brandon’s body holds up I think at that point Rudy will go. But I’m just not convinced Brandon can keep playing the minutes he is – especially if he is selected for the US Team and has to play at a high level all summer. (Which means we can’t trade Rudy too soon.)

But bottom line has to be : Nic.

Ahhhh jorga, you beat me to the punch… oh well, here’s what I had anyway :-)

I think my answers change depending on whether we’re talking about the next year or two or 3+ years. For the immediate future, I think Rudy’s the answer to all 3. He’s quite simply better right now. And I do think this year we will see big strides defensively and in creating his own shots now that he’s familiar with the NBA environment. We need his firepower, and until we’re sure about the PG and Webster, and Nic get’s some offense we cannot afford to trade away Rudy’s offense. AND A lot can happen in a few years – having an injury insurance policy for Roy in Rudy at least through his rookie contract term is a good thing.

That said, I agree that playing behind Roy forever is probably not going to appeal to Rudy long term. By the time that becomes a pressing issue we will have a better feel for our unanswered questions and Nic will have shown us what he’s got (which I’m sure is near All Star skills).

So bottom line for me if I had to choose today – Rudy. And not just because he’s hot….

They really are opposites in so many ways. Rudy has flair and excitement, Batum is a silent but smooth player. Rudy revels in the limelight where Batum appears to be satistfied deferring. I think that last point is very important. When there is a big situation-like a game we’ve been looking forward to and we need buckets, Rudy is amazing. He lives for challenges. Lakers, Houston, Team USA—whatever you throw it him he’s going to work his butt off and keep the game close.

Like everyone’s said, though, Batum fills more of a need so on this team, he’s more important.
So, to answer the questions:

1a. more excited to see improve?
Batum. I want to see him take control of the offense a little bit, both creating and knocking the trey down at a higher clip.

1b. higher immediate hopes:?
Rudy. He’s more experienced and now he has his NBA legs under him.

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?
Batum JUST BECAUSE HE PLAYS SMALL FORWARD BETTER.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it? (No fudging!)
Batum. Rudy provides insta-offense but as we saw in the playoffs, many people can (wafer anyone?). He is a more common skill set than Batum even if he’s head and shoulders above the competition (literally when sergio has the rock).

4. What would it take in return to pry either of these guys from you today?Neither are tradable TODAY. Assuming they stay on their trajectories, it would take bayless not panning out and still having problems at the PG in 2 years for me to consider trading Rudy. Batum would likely still be untouchable.

5. (added by me) How can we best maximize both of these assets?
Play them with Roy in a 3 guard lineup. In the fast break, Rudy is an excellent playmaker. In the half court, Roy is pretty good i hear. When Roy’s tired, Batum could pull a Pippen and bring the rock up. Great, but what about defense? On defense, you play matchups. Rudy or Batum takes on the smaller PGs and Batum or Roy takes bigger ones (Roy did good on Brooks and Batum did as good as anyone on Parker last year).
The only problem is this overworks Roy. He expends more energy through tougher defensive matchups (small forwards instead of SGs) and bringing up the ball on occasion. On the other hand, though, he gets two heady young guys playing alongside him who can take over when he wants a break.

I’ll take a 78 tuned 350 nova over a stock 2010 impala almost any day of the week if given just them 2 options. I like my impala, but gosh darn it… it’s just lacking in the dependible part…..(as far as zoom zoom goes)

But that Nova being all souped up and all…. it’s hitting 60 after 4.2 seconds… soooo….

I’ll take Rudy and say thank you very much.

Batum fills a glaring need on defense and he’s going to score some too. He’s our Battier.

Rudy is one of our most tradeable pieces and he isn’t too essential to this particular team. I’d be shopping him around if it brought in a key player that we do need. Then I’d give him a really nice ovation when he comes back to Portland with his new team.

1. More excited to see develop next year: Both the same. In terms of playing time I’m more interested to see if Nic can keep his starting spot, which would tell me a lot about his future with the team.
Higher immediate hopes: Rudy, since he has the experience of a veteran and just needs to translate it to the NBA, and showed great signs in the playoffs to become a valid third scoring option next to Roy and LMA.

2. Greater chance to contribute long-term: Nic, if only because our small forward situation is undefined, we are bad on defense, and Rudy is playing behind Roy – although I think the argument he needs to be traded since he will never see more than 30 minutes is bunk. Rudy can become some combination of Kevin Martin/Manu Ginobili/J.R.Smith here even in the shadow of Roy. At that time his trade value would be infinitely higher, and I can’t see how it will go down significantly from where it’s now. Nic has a good chance to be a combination of Tayshaun Prince and Rudy Gay (with better defense), which is something we don’t have. Since he is also pretty smart, studious and eager to improve by all accounts from Quick, KP and the coaches, his ceiling seems very high.

3. That’s why I would keep Nic

4. But I would question KP’s sanity if he trades either one for anything less than a sure starting star coming back in the deal right now. In NBA dimensions they are dirt-cheap draft steals who fill important roles and there is absolutely no need to trade them already foreseeing some “he will be too big of a star” point in the future. Overvalued? Maybe in the eyes of opposing fans, not for what the Blazers would need back to make a difference. At the moment, Rudy should have the higher trade value.

5. Who is sexier: Mhm, Rudy (at least in terms of his looks, maybe not his well-defined body. Sorry Sophia.)

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?

Surprisingly enough, on part a) I say Rudy. I want to see whether he can show more of the all-rounded game we know he has. I feel like he’s a little bit shackled in this offense for whatever reason. Solely utilizing him as a spot up shooter from three point range seems like a waste of his talents to me.

Part b) falls to Rudy as well. He’s going to provide a more dynamic influence for the Blazers in the near future.

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?

Nicholas Batum without question. I find it difficult to see Fernandez remaining a bench player behind Roy in the long term and the Blazers would get more value from a trade in a need position I believe than retaining him. It would also be the honorable thing to do for Rudy if he’s not getting the touches he needs.

Batum has the Tayshaun Prince-like physical attributes to be a long-term top-tier role player or borderline All-Star. He seems to possess much of the same calmness as well. I hope he has the same level of intelligence that Prince clearly demonstrates. He could well be our starting SF for years to come or a fabulous two-way super sub should a trade bring a high quality three to the team.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it? (No fudging!)

Batum, largely because I can’t see Roy and Fernandez working out a situation where they can comfortably take the floor together for long stretches. If there is confidence in a three guard set – which might happen should Oden become a low post scorer – or Brandon ends up playing at the point (which I don’t favour) then all bets are off.

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?

Rudy. I think he could average around 16 points a game off the bench, and considering the internet age, have a chance to make one fluke allstar game in the next 5 years. He has a lot more offense waiting to come out, and if Travis goes, we might see him being the guy that takes every last quarter shot and creates at the end of possessions.

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?

Batum. He fills a greater need of individual defender from positions 1-3.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it?

Batum. Like everyone else has said, Rudy is behind Roy.

4. What would it take in return to pry either of these guys from you today?

I’m not a huge fan of trade speculation. So I’ll just say Brook Lopez, because he could back up the 4 and 5.

Worst questions ever! How can you make me choose between these two? I should report you the authorities for cruel and unusual speculation.

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?

I have no idea how to answer these question about the two Blazers who excite me the most. For this one, I’d say Rudy. I think that him taking another leap in his abilities this coming year is more clearly necessary for his long term future. The Blazers will need to be able to play him and Brandon together a lot if they are going to keep him, and the question of who will play what position will largely be answered by Rudy’s growth on defense, ball handling/distribution, and creating off the dribble. Batum progress will be cool, no doubt, but I feel less concerned about his fit and the short term growth here as he already did more in rookie year 1 than I originally thought we would see from two years.

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?

Evil, evil bloggerman. Both of these guys have a lot of capacity to contribute to the Blazers long-term. I think Batum will develop into something really special and be a huge factor in one of the Blazers biggest weaknesses (defense). Then again, Rudy is already the type of special amazing difference making type of player that does both the flashy and the fundamental.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it? (No fudging!)

Such a cruel question, Dave. I don’t like you very much right now for forcing this question before I have to know the answer – creating a false either/or when I love both as much as anyone on this team! I guess I go with Nic for defensive reason. But I’m crying just thinking about this.

4. What would it take in return to pry either of these guys from you today?
A lot. Today? It would take an amazing (so amazing) PG or SF between 22 and 28; like, the type that most reasonably minded folk would consider untouchable. Monikers beyond CP3 and LBJ escape me now; I’m sure there are at least another 2-4 I might consider here. But I can’t quite figure out who they would be; these two are high on my list – most of the time i consider my untouchable tiers as 1.roy, 2. oden & lma, 3. rudy & batum. And the distance between 2nd & 3rd tier is slight.

Going to make a Dave Dartboard; such a cruel thing to have to think through in the morning!

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?

Rudy/Rudy. Next year I think Rudy will still be the better player. Overall he impacted the game more than Batum this year, and I think next year Batum will still be a defensive specialist without much of an offense. This is fine since Batum is 20 and has plenty of time to develop his offensive game.

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?

Batum. Once his offensive game improves, he’s just going to be an awesome all around guy, who doesn’t NEED the ball to help us win, but if Roy/LMA are having off nights he can easily pick up the scoring slack.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it? (No fudging!)

Dave, you’re a bad bad man for this… but Batum. If we didn’t have Brandon Roy this would be an insanely tough choice, but we do have Roy so I gotta go with Batum.

If he makes a full recovery and plays as well as we thought he might at the start of the season, we would have the same situation at small forward that we have at shooting guard, with a backup who deserves starter minutes. The consensus that Nic is the answer for questions 2 and 3 would not be so clear.

Here’s my 2 cents:

1. I think I’d have to say I’m more intrigued by what Batum can do. He’s the younger, more athletic player and I feel he has more room to grown than Rudy does. However, I think initially, Rudy will be a bigger part of this team to start next season.

2. For long term, you have to say Batum simply because at some point Rudy is going to want to be a starter. He’s not a natural SF, but that would be about all he could realistically start at for the Blazers. Batum is a definite SF who already has an entrenched solid role for the team.

3. If I HAD to only keep one (which I’d really rather not do, though I suppose it is inevitable) I would have to keep Nic. You can’t overestimate how good his defense was for a rookie. He’s potentially a shut down defender in a league devoid of them. He’s almost certainly going to be an NBA All-Defense player at some point in his career. I also think that he shoots well enough from three and has a decent enough stroke this early on to potentially be a decent shooter. Once he learns to use his athleticism more effectively, he’ll have a well rounded offensive game, though it will always be overshadowed by his defense. He’s the kind of puzzle piece that championship teams have.

1. Batum.

2. Batum

3.Batum

I agree completely.

The people who sing the praises of Batum like he’s the next Lebron James, I would like to hear some factual basis for those proclamations. Mostly I hear active, long arms, young, blah blah blah which describes about 95% of rookies who come into the league. Let’s see some statistical back-up for the ‘shut-down defender’ talk. Nobody else around the league sees Batum this way, I watched 85 Blazer games approx this season and not one opposing player looked scared to go against Nicolas Batum. I also see a lot of assumptions that Batum will develop offensively without much evidence to back it up other than hopeful wishes.

Given what I saw this season, Batum is slightly better on defense while Rudy is ten times the player on offense. Both will probably imrpove however I think it’s a pipe dream to assume that Batum ever becomes a reliable scorer. If you have to pick you should choose Rudy, if for no other reason than the NBA is a league of offense. Batum-types aren’t that hard to find, sorry Blazer fans..

I pick Rudy all the way. Rudys is going to be insane next year! I love Nic, but he is this years Ime Udoka. He played hard and will go to a solid team, just like Udoka did. Thats how we do it. Each year we have a guy that is a role player. Nic filled the role but now with Webster healthy, he will get moved. There is no way you move Rudy….unless you are getting Chris Paul! And since that aint gonna happen, I vote keep Rudy, trade Nic!

I pick Nic for all of the questions and that pains me. His feel for the game is sooo natural and he fills a need that is more important than the one Rudy would fill. I think you have to take a potential starter at sf over a potential 6th man, even if that 6th man is the cats pajamas. Screw it, I am fudging, I am keeping them both and there is nothing you can do to stop me Dave! muahahahaaha!!!!!!!!!

1) Nicolas.

2) Nicolas.

3) Nicolas.

Finis!

He has already become my 2nd favorite Blazer behind Roy. He shows a basketball headiness that neither Webster or Outlaw. I can also say the same thing for Rudy, so that isn’t a knock on him.

My problem with Rudy is that I find him one-dimensional on offense. He has a lot of trouble putting the ball on the floor and getting to the rim. Most of the time, he gets trapped and has to throw up a floater in the lane, which has a widely variable success rate. I love Rudy’s perimeter shooting, and I think it can improve further as he gets used to the NBA 3-point line, but I have serious doubts as to his mid-range and interior game. His size is not conducive for growth in these areas.

On a side note, I do love his alley-oop lob dunks. They always get me out of my seat.

On the opposite end, I feel he uses his streakiness and quick movements to mask his deficiencies on defense. His feet are always moving, giving the appearance that he’s working hard on defense, but he is routinely blown by on the perimeter. I just don’t feel he’s got the strength to contend with bigger/prototypical guards. Despite that, I love his court vision and anticipation. He routinely cuts off passing lanes and sees plays almost before they happen. I feel Rudy is a much better team defender than an on-man/1-on-1 defender (team defender? I’m not sure of the term for what I just described, but I think you get my point).

I see Batum as having a bigger repertoire on both sides of the floor, or at the very least, the potential for it. As only a kid, he still has time to build up his frame, add some muscle, and develop a go-to post/penetration move. Multiple dunks on bigger, stronger defenders (Pau Gasol, anyone?) support this.

Batum is already the team’s best perimeter defender, can shoot from long range adequately (37% for a 19 year old whom has never used the NBA 3 point line before? I think he’s got no-where else to go but up in this aspect of his game), and shows a basketball IQ that surpasses any of his SF teammates. I hate bringing up BBIQ because it’s become such a buzzword, but I feel like I can count the number of egregious, stupid decisions Batum has made this season on two hands – I can’t say the same for Outlaw.

I very rarely have faith in the development of young players – I’m more of a SHOW ME kind of believer – but Batum is an exception to that rule for me.

There´re many different units with different qualities, all of them important. But almost always the most important and unique unit is the one which increases the value of the pieces attached to it. Who do you think makes better his teammates?

Generals are also very important. Who other than Oden do you think can challenge Nate to add a plan C or D, which they´ll need to win a championship?

You can´t win playing war games if you don´t have expirience. Who can add more experience to a team which worst sin is inexperience?

Love Nic though.

1) Rudy. I agree with some of the posts above. With Webster coming back and his sweet shot, I think that could open up Rudy a bit more. Also, I am quite excited to see how the coaches evolve the offense to take advantage of Rudy’s squirrelly nature. We know he can spot up and hit, plus catch, turn, and drop from a full sprint. But, I am really interested to see if the coaches can fully take advantage of his athleticism. On a side note, has anyone heard anything regarding Rudy’s off-season training? Are they working on his ball-handling and strength-training?

2) Batum. He’s just a kid, yet to come close to potential and he’s already taking the toughest defensive matchups. I wasn’t sure which one I was more excited to see develop until he reminded Pau that, yes indeed, he had dunked on him twice. His shot has a long ways to go, but it surely is not starting from a bad point. He has the desire and as the season progressed he became more aggressive, even with playing with a sore ankle. I’m a fan of Batum.

3) Batum. His bbIQ is impressive for his age, now imagine this with physical presence developed from years of training and playing in the NBA. oooh wee.

3a) aka… fudge… Rudy is a game changer, he has that ability to 5 points in 2 seconds to end a quarter and turn the rose garden in a frenzied mob of high 5s and belly roars… as he learns the system and hopefully how to shake off missing his first two shots, he’ll be amazing and a guy we will say, “can’t believe we traded him”

Insane Troll logic is behind these questions. Anya or Willow? How could I choose. You’re evil, Dave.

But seriously, I don’t think we’re going to be able to keep Rudy long term, and if we traded Batum, I’d be livid. I don’t want to lose Rudy, either, and I’m hoping he can be happy playing a Kukoc kind of role – 30 minutes, go to scoring option, pt down the stretch of big games, etc. He’s got game-changing poise and drive.

We’re keeping them both. So says my heart.

1. Rudy is the player who can contribute most at this point and who I see making a big impact this coming season. He is seasoned in the international game and now has had a year to see how the NBA feels. I think it will be hard to keep him off the court. His 3pt shot should improve even more as he gets stronger and better conditioned for the 82+ game season and his familiarity with Roy, Aldridge, Blake, and Oden (and theirs with him) should help him contribute even more to the team.

2. I think Batum will be the player that has a greater chance to stick around and contribute. He plays a position that is his to grab a hold of while Rudy will always be behind Roy and might have problems blending in. I hope this isn’t the case but Rudy might end up being a piece that has to be moved to make the team better at another position. It is too early to say this is the way to see their situations but it has a good chance of playing out that way. Batum could be the defensive stopper on the perimeter that this team has been searching for…

3. I would have to go with Batum based mainly on the return value of what Rudy might bring back to the team at this point. But I will go out on a limb here and say that Batum will be the better player 5 years from now. He looks pretty darn good at 19 years old. I could really see him becoming a guy who just goes out and plays 30-40 minutes a night and does what ever you need him to do…shut down the other team’s top scorer one night…score 25 points the next…

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?

I would have to say that i am more excited to see Rudy develop next year, some of his best playing time was when he was on the court with sergio, and if portland doesnt fire nate i dont see sergio playing much even if he doesnt go anywhere just do to his issues with nates offense. I also have higher immediate hopes for Rudy, hes a great player and has proven himself on the world level, but now he needs to adjust to the nba game and prove he is a top caliber player again. Why am I the only one that thinks Roy and Rudy can be our PG/SG is there a rule that you have to have a guy playing in the conventional positions every game?

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?

Batum will Contribute less stats wise but more. He will be the lock down defender who tips the ball out of passing lanes for Rudy to get his steal and break away dunk. or tip a lose rebound out to Roy. Rudy will do better in almost ever stat catagory but batum will be the glue. With my after nate gets fired lineup of Roy, Rudy, Batum, LA, Oden backed up by Billa, Freeland(the banger every one wants but doesnt talk about), Webster, bayless(hes a sg not a pg), blake. with kaponnen(spelling) and what ever palyer we draft or old vetran who brings nothing to the team but wisdom and a few garbage minutes they will be set

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it? (No fudging!)
I keep Batum, Roy can score 25-35 a night, LA can score 20, hopefully oden will become a 10-20pt a night guy, blake gives you 10 more and thats 65-85 points a night from your starters minus batum rudy and or whoever you trade for. so scoring wont be the problem. portland needs to work on defense for 24 seconds. i dont know if its nate or the players but it seems like the plan is to stop them for 20 seconds then allow a open jump shot. that needs to change.

1. Which of these two players are you more excited to see develop next year? For whom do you have the higher immediate hopes?

The development curve seems exciting for both players. Offense: Both have to develop into more dimensions on offense, primarily ball handling. Rudy is ahead on experience. Nic is ahead on physical skills and court awareness. On defense Rudy has farther to travel and perhaps not the physical ability to do so. If both were flowers, Rudy is a beautiful red carnation in approaching full bloom and Nic is a deep royal purple rose bud about to bloom. So the answer, for me, is Batum is more exciting to watch develop this year.

Regarding the immediate hopes, Rudy will likely continue to contribute more flair, excitement and statistics and Nic will likely contribute more wins next year. The key to this part is Batum hitting his shots with regularity to be trusted with more crunch time minutes. I believe he will do this. So my hopes are higher for Batum.

2. Which of these players do you give the greater chance to contribute to the Blazers long-term? How, why, and in what capacity?

The long-term contributions revolve around flexibility. KP has said he wants to surround Roy, Greg and LA with shooters. That is why Nic must be more consistent. Last year, 2nd half of the season, Nic played 38 games. He shot over 50% in 20 of those game (52.6%) but he shot under 34% in 15 of those games (39.5%). This feast of famine has to become steady feast. I believe Nate will play some games with both Webster and Batum on the floor. Together:

To support this Webster and Batum would collectively average 17 points and 7 rebounds collectively (Artest and Battier 2008-2009 collective per 24 minutes) and play better defense. Webster’s last year and Batum’s first year collective on a 24 minute each basis was 16 points and 7 rebounds. This can improve 2 points and 1 rebound this year to surpass the veterans compared above. Just consistency from both players. And with both on the floor at times with this team can lock down an opponent and dominate defensively. Yes, I agree that Webster has to stay healthy and return to pre-season 2008 form.

3. You can only keep one. Which one is it?

I keep Nicolas for three reasons.

    1. Nate is big on defense and Nic will always be better than Rudy. He is quicker laterally, faster, longer wingspan, taller and seems to anticipate better.
    2. I believe Nic will excel in shooting with another two years experience and rival Rudy.
    3. Rudy will have much higher trade value at this time.

4. What would it take in return to pry either of these guys from you today?

Chris Paul. Nobody else can actually mesh with this team and still be a star. This is B-Roy’s team. CP3 shoots well from outside, penetrates at will, hits the open shooter and forces teams to choose their poison. Other stars would seek to take over the team. I think CP3 and B-Roy can work well together. Do I think we can get CP3? Maybe, if a Sonics type situation develops where a new owner wanted to move the Hornets and rebuild cheaply. But not likely.

1. I am more excited to see how Rudy blossoms next season because right now Rudy has the more exciting game and the better short-term prospects. Batum has some great tools but Rudy is closer to being a great player.

2. Down the road, as long as Batum keeps his confidence and develops more aggressiveness, particularly attacking the rim on offense, I think Batum has all the tools to fill a huge hole: defensive stopper on the wing. I think he’ll blend in with anyone we decide to start next to him. Rudy will too offensively but I think the Blazers will have enough offensive players to get by. It’s a tough call, but Batum by a nose.

3. For the same reasons…Batum.

—Dave

1. I’m more excited to see Rudy develop next year because I think he’s closer to his ceiling and it will at least be in sight next year.

2. I think Batum is the more useful long-term piece for Portland, because he’s a rare perimeter defender on our team, he’s a very self-effacing player who doesn’t demand a lot of ball, and he’s no where NEAR his ceiling (which is somewhere between Tayshaun and Pippen, at best). I see Batum, in a few years’ time, as a starter or bench player getting 20-30 min. a night, guarding the opponent’s best player between 6’ and 6’9, feasting on the passing lanes, running the break, and quarterbacking the half-court defense.

3. Batum. I’m in this for the long haul and any way I look at it Rudy’s defense is going to be a liability down the road.

Batum = Pippen
Rudy = Petrovic
Pippen > Petrovic

Roy + Batum > Roy + Rudy

I’ll take Batum.