WHAT TO DO WITH NIC BATUM BECAUSE WE WILL LOSE HIM IF NOT TRADED.

draft Sulinger

He’s got a better outside shot, his shot blocking is crazy right now, on defense it might be a draw and he’s younger, a lot younger. I think he could be had for the same price as Wallace or less, and inked to a long term deal. The big issue I have with Nic is he doesn’t bring it every night, but at this point Wallace doesn’t either, which is painfully obvious with his stats at home and the road. Nic has improved over last year but we haven’t seen as much since he’s been coming off the bench. I say Nico needs to get the starting spot back, especially if Wallace’s hand is bothering him, and we should look to move Gerald to make it clear which direction we are choosing.

I like Wallace, a lot. I think Nic’s strengths are his youth and his craftiness as opposed to GW’s recklessness, which although it can wreak havoc on opposing teams is inconsistent and undependable.

Wallace is the one leaving and the one we had better trade if we want to get anything for him.

Portland’s front office has closed their ranks, which means ESPN Insider may be quoting Batum’s agent, who is someone I would never take at face value.

Unless Nic gets an absolutely insane offer, the Blazers will match. They’ll very likely go a little past their comfort zone to keep him (I’m guessing $9m/yr), but won’t break the bank as they go into rebuild and don’t want to kill cap space for a guy who hasn’t shown the ability to be reliable yet.

If Nic is able to get a 5 year, 55 Million contract, Portland will have to consider not matching it. That simply means a team is willing to reach for an inconsistent scorer who floats at times, and has not shown he’s an elite defender.

Teams see his potential but I strongly doubt that even teams such as the Spurs would pay as much as 10 mil a year for him.

Crash SHOULD BE TRADED. I love the dude, he plays so hard but I feel management will have failed this year if they fail to TRADE GERALD FOR SOMETHING. His value will likely only drop from here on out and we need more of an outside threat from our SF spot. LaMarcus NEEDS as many good shooters around him as possible, Gerald has been respectable but he really doesn’t go well with LaMarcus’s game. All he does is slash to the hoop for layins which often just clogs the lane even more. We dont even need to get a star back for Crash, but we should trade him before the end of the year for 1st round picks and/or solid PG/C.

It means that management is finally not overvaluing their talent and is willing to make a trade or two that will produce some sidekicks for LMA.

lightskin350 you are DEAD ON when you say that the Blazers need to figure out which direction they want to go and then GO with it. The longer they keep both the more confusing and dramatic this situation will become.

What worth do you see in Jose?

we are in no danger of losing Batum.

Blazers will have alot of money to get free agents next year. Wallace and Batum can both get 6.5 mill a year. And Camby and Crawford could get new contracts as well

Some other team can overpay for a roleplayer, he can eat up their cap space for years, and we can spend our money elsewhere. It’s a win-win. Either we keep him for a reasonable amount or it’s some other team’s problem that they overpaid for potential.

I dislike your caplocks and opinions.

JOSE CALDERON is not fair trade value. Maybe three years ago but he is going to be steadily declining. I think Crash is more likely to bolt after this season if only one of the two guys does.

Since we will have the rights to match any offer for Batum does that mean we can go over the cap to do it? Say we have $20mil in cap space. Can we sign $19mil in free agents then go over the cap to match Batum? If this is the case, it makes a lot more sense to match an offer in the future than it would to sign him right now and have it count against the cap right away. Can someone let me know if I’m completely off base with this??