RC to Batum: You will soon be in black and silver

[JUUOT]

Today in l'equipe, Nicolas Batum is looking back at his rookie season. He mentions that at the end of the last game against the spurs RC buford came to see him to say "you will soon be in silver and black"

Here is a rapid translation of the interesting part:

individually it was a good year too, because i played a lot, more than i imagined at the beginning of the year. 18 mn per game, i imagined it only in the D-league. Not in the NBA. I was a starter for 76 games during regular season on a winning team, it s pretty good. I am happy and apparently it was noticed. Blazers were happy and the spurs still follow me. After our last game at San antonio, RC buford came to tell me "you will soon be in black and silver". but i am fine in Portland. I have still a lot of progress to do. I need to be more proactive in offense, more powerfull too. i gained 6kilos (13 pounds) during the season and the club can't believe it. But i was 93 kilos when i got here and finished the season at 99. I still need to gain more without loosing fluidity. But i hold up better. I knew i improved when guys like D west tried to push me and i did not move. I am strong now...


A un niveau personnel, cela a aussi été une bonne année, car j'ai beaucoup joué, ce qui était quand même inespéré en début d'année. 18 minutes par match, je ne l'imaginais qu'en D-League. Pas en NBA. J'ai été 76 fois titulaire durant la saison régulière, dans une équipe qui gagne, c'est bien. Je suis content. Et apparemment, cela a plu. Les Blazers sont contents, et les Spurs(qui le voulaient le soir de la draft) me suivent toujours. Après notre dernier match à San Antonio, RC Buford (le manager des Spurs) est venu me voir pour me dire : 'Tu seras bientôt en noir et argent.' Mais je suis bien à Portland... J'ai encore beaucoup de progrès à faire. Je dois devenir plus présent en attaque. Plus puissant aussi. J'ai pris 6 kilos durant la saison et ils ont du mal à y croire au club. Mais j'étais à 93 kilos en arrivant et j'ai fini la saison à 99 kilos. Je dois encore en prendre, sans perdre ma fluidité. Mais je résiste mieux. J'ai su que j'avais bien progressé lorsqu'un type comme David West a essayé de me bouger et je n'ai pas bronché. Je suis costaud maintenant...»

[tp2021]

Sounds more like RC's hope than anything.

[urunobili]

:lol Bitchard will NEVER do a deal with us...

[MoSpur]

Isn't that like tampering against NBA rules since he's not a free agent?

[Chieflion]

You will be in silver and black, not because you are old, but you are another Euro player that Garnett may try intimidate when he sees the chance.

[SenorSpur]

Isn't that like tampering against NBA rules since he's not a free agent?

You bet it is. Bitchard would be well within his rights to pass these comments to the league office.

[SenorSpur]

:lol Bitchard will NEVER do a deal with us...

+1

I cannot imagine a scenario where he would EVER do a trade with the Spurs.

[The Truth #6]

More importantly, it didn't sound like Batum wanted to leave Portland.

[FromWayDowntown]

Great. So the Spurs are going to trade Tony Parker to Portland?!?!?

[tmtcsc]

Pffft...I bet he said "you should be in silver in black". He probably misunderstood him.

[Kobayagi]

it didn't sound like Batum wanted to leave Portland.

Why would he? Like he said, he's a rookie, playing 18 minutes per game on a playoff team, starting 76 regular season games. I don't think he could have a better situation with the Spurs. Can't really blame him for not wanting to leave Portland.

[tp2021]

Great. So the Spurs are going to trade Tony Parker to Portland?!?!?

More like Manu...












:stirpot:

[tp2021]

This is just a big misunderstanding. RC probably means Batum will be a Raiders fan this year. They finally put it all together over there.

[JUUOT]

Why would he? Like he said, he's a rookie, playing 18 minutes per game on a playoff team, starting 76 regular season games. I don't think he could have a better situation with the Spurs. Can't really blame him for not wanting to leave Portland.

In the same article he talks about how fun the atmosphere is because they are all young

[Chieflion]

In the same article he talks about how fun the atmosphere is because they are all young
Ouch!

[MoSpur]

I think Batum only said he likes Portland because its the right thing to say. Not saying he doesn't like it, but he would probably like playing in San Antonio as well, but can't say that because he's a Trailblazer right now.

[Bruno]

Nice find JUUOT. :tu

Spurs also called Blazers at the trade deadline so they are obviously still interested in him.

Now, I'm quite skeptical about this. Batum also said in another article that Blazers were really happy with him and that he would still be the starting SF next year. It's possible that all this story come from a misunderstood of what RC said to him. English isn't Batum's mother tongue after all.

If RC has really said that, then I really wonder what kind of trades Spurs have in the work...

[jason1301]

I would love to see him in Silver and Black.

We can only hope....

[Bruno]

The article in French:
http://www.lequipe.fr/Basket/CHRONIQUE_NBA_110509.html

And :lol at Noah bashing KG.

[MoSpur]

Hey Bruno, can you translate what Noah says about KG?

[Extra Stout]

Maybe R.C. was just reminding Batum that the Blazers were about to start a road trip, so Batum would be wearing Portland's black road uniforms with the silver and red trim.

Or maybe they're going to blow up the team in a year or so, and trade Parker and Duncan to Portland for Nicholas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez, some picks, and other players to make the numbers work.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

This is just a big misunderstanding. RC probably means Batum will be a Raiders fan this year. They finally put it all together over there.

:lol

[SenorSpur]

More importantly, it didn't sound like Batum wanted to leave Portland.

Doesn't sound good, does it? Doesn't matter anyway because Batum has no say as to whether or not he ends up in S.A or remains in Portland. Even though he did nothing in the playoffs, I can't imagine the Blazers giving up on him this soon.

[Bruno]

Hey Bruno, can you translate what Noah says about KG?

"I don't give a fuck about him. I really don't give a fuck about him. In the past, he was my favorite player. Now, he isn't anymore. He talks all the time. He is clearly passionate for his team, mainly when things go well. He is a great player. But now, I heard stories about him, I see who he is, and I'm not at all a fan of him."

[SenorSpur]

"I don't give a fuck about him. I really don't give a fuck about him. In the past, he was my favorite player. Now, he isn't anymore. He talks all the time. He is clearly passionate for his team, mainly when things go well. He is a great player. But now, I heard stories about him, I see who he is, and I'm not at all a fan of him."

Do share. What specifically have you heard about him that has you turned off?

[Obstructed_View]

More importantly, it didn't sound like Batum wanted to leave Portland.

George Hill got thrown to the end of the bench when the Spurs needed him the most. Why the fuck would Batum be interested in that?

[TheProfessor]

What Portland is telling Batum, and what they're talking about in private, could be very different things. Hard to see Buford saying something like this without their being some kind of communication between in the teams.

[Bruno]

Do share. What specifically have you heard about him that has you turned off?

It's not me who says that. It's a translation of what Noah says about KG.

[Summers]

"I don't give a fuck about him. I really don't give a fuck about him. In the past, he was my favorite player. Now, he isn't anymore. He talks all the time. He is clearly passionate for his team, mainly when things go well. He is a great player. But now, I heard stories about him, I see who he is, and I'm not at all a fan of him."

Wow, damn. This makes me like Noah a little more.

[MoSpur]

Thanks Bruno. I'm with Summers, I like Noah!. LOL

[GSH]

There's only a few ways this can shake out:

1. Buford really said that to Batum, which would be tampering. Not good.
2. Buford said nothing like that to Batum - which means Batum made the whole thing up and then told the story to a reporter. Not good.
3. The whole thing is just a big misunderstanding, due to the language barrier, in which case it's a non-story.

I guess it's possible that the Spurs and Blazers have an agreement in principle, so the Blazers wouldn't raise any objections about tampering. I'm not sure what the league's position would be on that, but I doubt they want to see it in print.

Personally, I don't think there is any way Buford would say something like that openly to a player on another team. I don't know if you remember, but right after Will Perdue went to Chicago, he made a statement to a reporter about the Bulls signing Tim Duncan. The league got seriously pissed off, and investigated. They decided the team wasn't involved, so they just gave a warning to Perdue. But they don't play around with tampering allegations. If Buford actually said that to Batum, he and the team would get an ass-kicking. I just don't believe he would do it.

Most likely, it is a young player trying to look more important by talking big in front of a reporter. I doubt that will impress the Spurs FO much.

[Edit: Even if the Spurs and Blazers do have an agreement "in principle", it couldn't be a binding agreement at this point in time. Which means that if the deal fell through, the Blazers could still hang the Spurs out to dry for tampering. For Buford to talk directly to the player about it would just be dumb. I say it just didn't happen.]

[tav1]

In terms of agreements in principle, I don't think it's unthinkable the Blazers and Spurs held serious talks in February. Bruno says they talked, so I believe they talked. Here's what we know: the Blazers want to land a top flight point guard. Their front office is split over whether Bayless can become that player. They're either going to land one in a trade or free agency. Let's suppose they can't make a trade. What then?

I think they'll try to sign either Jason Kidd or Andre Miller. To do this, they'll need to rescind the rights to Frye (no brainer) and clear a little cap. Steve Blake is the obvious contract to move. Oberto + Bowen + a pick for Blake and Batum? It doesn't look like a good deal for the Blazers, but they are ultimately exchanging Batum for Kidd. Given Bayless, Webster and Outlaw, this is an acceptable loss to them. For the Spurs, it's a win-win.

I'm just brainstorming here, but that seems plausible to me.

[Bruno]

The tampering issue is more a problem when it is with a player you planed to get via free agency. If Spurs get Batum, it will be with a trade.


In terms of agreements in principle, I don't think it's unthinkable the Blazers and Spurs held serious talks in February.

They didn't have serious talks. Batum said Spurs called Blazers about him but that Blazers quickly hang up the phone.
Blazers and Bobcats had serious talks about Batum at the trade deadline, likely in a trade for Gerald Wallace.

[tav1]

Thanks, Bruno. I stand corrected.

[Bruno]

Blake and Outlaw contracts for next year are also fully non-guaranteed if they are waived before June 30th. :)

[ShoogarBear]

The tampering issue is more a problem when it is with a player you planed to get via free agency.

Not true. The NBA makes no such distinction.

If you go around telling a player you're going to make a trade for him, where are his loyalties going to be for his current team?

If RC actually said that (which I doubt), it's tampering.

[GSH]

Not true. The NBA makes no such distinction.

If you go around telling a player you're going to make a trade for him, where are his loyalties going to be for his current team?

If RC actually said that (which I doubt), it's tampering.


You're exactly right, ShoogarBear. This is the short version of the tampering rule:

Tampering is when a player or team directly or indirectly entices, induces or persuades anybody (player, general manager, etc.) who is under contract with another team to negotiate for their services.

If the Spurs had talks with the Blazers, that is between the FO's of the two teams. But going to the player and saying that he will soon be wearing your uniform? That would absolutely be tampering. The Blazers might not press the issue, if there really was a deal waiting for the trade date to get here. But knowing what a small percentage of proposed trades actually go through, talking about it to the player would be stupid.

If Buford told one of the Spurs players that Batum would soon be wearing Silver and Black, and that player spouted it to a reporter, it would still be tampering. Those guys are all well coached on how delicate the tampering rules are.

Like I said... I don't think it happened.

[kace]

It's not me who says that. It's a translation of what Noah says about KG.

i think senorspur was asking noah


Do share. What specifically have you heard about him that has you turned off?

well, apparently, KG acted like an asshole, as usual, during the series.

the article says, just before Noah's quote posted by Bruno:


The french big man has not only lost with his team against Boston, he also lost any respect to his youth idol, the shouting Kevin Garnett. And that even with KG out of the court. Actually, the Celtics stars doesn't need to play to show off, considering that he shouts and slangs to everyone everytime from the first till the last minute. If he heard about it without realling knowing what was said, Noah took right in the face the excesses from the frenzy jackass.

and then , Noah reacted like it was posted.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

R.C.: "Let me give you a pat on the back."

Batum: "What? I'll soon be in Silver and Black??!"

[timvp]

Meh, I'm guessing Batum just made that up to try to sound cooler. When French players talk to the French media, they do so as if the info will never cross the pond. RC is the most calculating communicator in the Spurs' organization. He doesn't say anything without thinking it through. I'd believe Batum if he said Pop told him .... not RC.

It'll be interesting to see how Batum progresses in the NBA. He was really strong at points in his rookie season but his final ~6 weeks were bad. He played tired and his stats plummeted. Come playoff time, he was likely the worst starter in the playoffs outside of Bonner.

While I think Batum has a good future, I'm not sold on the fact that he'll be able to hold onto that starting job. Portland benched him at the end of the playoffs and put Rudy into the starting lineup. You have to think making Rudy a full-time starter is possible. If not Rudy, then the original starter at small forward (Martell Webster) could start once again when he's healthy. And Travis Outlaw has been complaining about not starting.

If Portland tries to make a big trade, I'm guess the players they throw in as sweeteners are Batum, Bayless and Rodriguez. That said, there's just no way Pritchardouchebag trades Batum for the Spurs for anything less than a package that involves Parker. He basically drafted Batum just because he figured out that's who the Spurs wanted.

[timvp]

R.C.: "Let me give you a pat on the back."

Batum: "What? I'll soon be in Silver and Black??!"

:lol

[urunobili]

RC is the most calculating communicator in the Spurs' organization. He doesn't say anything without thinking it through. I'd believe Batum if he said Pop told him .... not RC.



Scola has owned RC horribly. While in Europe, Scola said he was a good rebounder and he came to the NBA and proved he is a good rebounder. Horrible scouting job by RC compounded by sending multiple emails that critiqued Scola unfairly and ended up not only being wrong but ended up souring Scola and his agents on the franchise. :td

:wtf

[Ditty]

rather have fernendez in 2010

[DeltaCharlie1]

Na, not Fernandez. Outlaw would fit alot better for us.

[SpursWench21]

rather have fernendez in 2010


+1 Although I would love Batum, getting rudy (and hopefully another youthful talent come 2010) would be sick....:flag:

[SenorSpur]

The Blazers, Bitchard in particular, seemingly value their players so much, while having so little regard for anything the Spurs have, it's inconceivable to think they'd even entertain even the most ridiculous of offers coming from S.A. Spurs just do not have enough assets to make Portland take them seriously.

[Duncan2177]

I smell BS

[Thompson]

Probably a misunderstanding, but I read somewhere that the FO was talking to VSpan again. Maybe we trade Hill for Batum to fill our need at SF and bring in VSpan as the backup point, like we were supposedly planning a year or so ago.

[TheYesMan]

Isn't that like tampering against NBA rules since he's not a free agent?

Yes

[ElNono]

Did RC also send him an email telling him he needs to rebound better? :lol

[ShoogarBear]

Did RC also send him an email telling him he needs to rebound better? :lol

:lmao

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

:wtf

Neither comment have much in common with each other.

[rayray2k8]

That's interesting and for the casual spurs fan, that would make it seem like the spurs will be making some needed changes in the summer.
Think the expiring contract would seem more valuable at this point with next summer coming.
Love how some posters here are downplaying the idea of having Batum here. :lol
From what I saw, the kid can play and it'd be stupid to say that he couldn't help the spurs in the future.
Be the all french team by next year, if a trade did go down. (Insert French flag here.)
Parker, Ian, Batam.

[ChumpDumper]

So RC's new GM strategy is jedi mind tricks.

Great.

[tp2021]

So RC's new GM strategy is jedi mind tricks.

Great.

These aren't the teammates you're looking for.

[exstatic]

So RC's new GM strategy is jedi mind tricks.

Great.


These aren't the teammates you're looking for.

:lmao

[duncan228]

From Blazers Edge.

Hands Off, Buford! (http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/5/11/872270/hands-off-buford)
by Dave

A friend of ours from France, Julien, directs our attention to this article (http://www.lequipe.fr/Basket/CHRONIQUE_NBA_110509.html) from the French website l'Equipe. It contains an interview with Blazer forward Nicolas Batum. This is the excerpt in question:


A un niveau personnel, cela a aussi été une bonne année, car j'ai beaucoup joué, ce qui était quand même inespéré en début d'année. 18 minutes par match, je ne l'imaginais qu'en D-League. Pas en NBA. J'ai été 76 fois titulaire durant la saison régulière, dans une équipe qui gagne, c'est bien. Je suis content. Et apparemment, cela a plu. Les Blazers sont contents, et les Spurs(qui le voulaient le soir de la draft) me suivent toujours. Après notre dernier match à San Antonio, RC Buford (le manager des Spurs) est venu me voir pour me dire : 'Tu seras bientôt en noir et argent.' Mais je suis bien à Portland...

Julien offers this translation:


Personally, it has been a very good year, because of the time i spend on the court. At the beginnig of this season, nobody expected that i played that much. 18 min per game, I imagined it just in D-League, not in NBA. I've been 76 times a starter during the regular season in a winning team, that's good. I'm happy. And apparently, a lot of people are happy. The Blazers are happy and the Spurs (franchise that wanted Nicolas so bad during draft night) still observing me. After our last game at San Antonio, RC Buford (Spurs' general manager) came to told me : "You will be soon in black and silver". But still, i'm great in Portland.

Now I know that side conversations between players and officials from other teams go on all the time. They aren't meant for public consumption. But "You will soon be in black and silver" is treading pretty close to the fighting line with me. I wonder how close to the tampering line it treads as well? That doesn't seem entirely acceptable.

That aside, has San Antonio got anyone you'd take at this point for Batum? Anyone they'd reasonably give, that is. Or was Buford just hoping the Blazers would fall asleep at the switch and let Batum drift into unrestricted free agency off of his rookie contract somehow?

Thanks to Julien for the heads up.

I guess now it's time for K.P. to start whispering in Tony Parker's ear.

[Halberto]

I don't understand the hype following this guy

[tp2021]

I guess now it's time for K.P. to start whispering in Tony Parker's ear.

Good luck with that. He's got Eva for those kinds of things. Get too cloase to Tony and Eva will throw a bitchslap at him. And you know if he retaliates with a Pritchslap, TP will give him a dickslap.

[jrmp317]

I don't understand the hype following this guy

he is young, legit 6'8'', and plays good D.

[Udokafan05]

upgrade over finley

[Ditty]

i was jsut thinking about right now what if spurs pulled off some blockbuster lopsided trade for batum and ferndez in 2010

dont reallly have no one to offer but could use draft picks and maybe use splitter or javoataskas as bait

but i hope batum will ply for the spurs in about 2 or 3 years max

[SequSpur]

whatever, batum sucks

[montgod]

I don't think anything will transpire with him. Portland has too many other players (Webster, Fernandez, Sergio, Outlaw, etc.) that they will try to dump to help their cap then Batum whose salary is manageable.

Too bad that Miles came back when he did... haha.

I am curious though why the Spurs wouldn't trade with Pritchard. Is there some bad blood between him and the FO? If so... do share.

[sexinthatsx]

whatever, fuck batum. We don't need his ass. We have a beastly SF that is wayyy better than batum in James Gist. Now that guy is legit

[The Truth #6]

Another thing to consider: if Batum possibly made this up, then what about his comments immediately after getting drafted by the Blazers? If I remember, he seemed to indicate that the Spurs were going to draft him, even though George Hill thought the same thing. Not really a big deal, but it seemed to throw the board into several long discussions, all because some other comments he made.

I suppose we'll never really know much in these situations, especially when dealing with a combination of the media and players who like to exaggerate their own importance.

[Obstructed_View]

Another thing to consider: if Batum possibly made this up, then what about his comments immediately after getting drafted by the Blazers? If I remember, he seemed to indicate that the Spurs were going to draft him, even though George Hill thought the same thing.

I thought about this as well. He sounds like he's full of shit to me. We'll definitely find out, because the league is going to investigate to see if there was tampering by the Spurs, and we'll certainly find out about it if Batum was telling the truth.

[Blackjack]

Yeah, uh... I'm not buying it.

This is either a case of lost in translation, or Batum's a little on the insecure side, looking to make himself a little more important with his native France.

R.C., despite what some posters would have you believe, is simply not that stupid or wreckless to risk tampering charges.

[timvp]

:wtf

:lol

There's a big difference between bad scouting and doing something that is against the rules of the NBA.

[urunobili]

:lol

There's a big difference between bad scouting and doing something that is against the rules of the NBA.

I was just teasing... but i also learned a new NBA rule while reading the thread :tu

[ChumpDumper]

It's not that bad an offense. No picks would be lost.

[DPG21920]

Ko0CKv-jyWU

[Yogurt210]

Haha, I knew it. I told you so, Batum will be a huge gain.
my realistic dream team for next year is coming closer to reality.

Now we just gotta get Bonsu Back

[SenorSpur]

Portland would like to deal several players and Batum was on the list, but what do they want in return? Im sure the spurs will look into it this off season but dont think hes moved.

Can you share how you've become aware that Portland is willing to deal several players this summer?

[Russ]

How well does Batum speak (or understand) English?

RC may have just said, with a smile, "Sure wish you were in Silver and Black." The other statement simply makes no sense, whether the Spurs are after Batum or not. (For example, if the Spurs are really so set on Batum that RC would make such a definitive statement, the price just went up.)

[itzsoweezee]

LOL. Why would Batum leave Portland to come play for a worse team that will pay him less money? Keep dreaming, fools.

[tlongII]

whatever, fuck batum. We don't need his ass. We have a beastly SF that is wayyy better than batum in James Gist. Now that guy is legit

LOL James Gist :lol

[DMX7]

I doubt he said that.

[SpursFan0728]

LOL @ the posters here saying we don't need him.

Batum>Finley, Udoka, Gist, Williams, Hariston

[Sean Cagney]

LOL James Gist :lol

YOU SHALL SEE THE GIST HERE SOON!!!!!!! I hope :lol. I hope he is good too, atlhetic and can play some D, as he has shown signs to.

[TheChillFactor]

i love that ugly bastard noah.

[Indazone]

Spurs front office needs to do some serious retooling in the offseason. I'm not talkin about the players either.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

LOL James Gist :lol

LOL Oden :lmao

[sexinthatsx]

YOU SHALL SEE THE GIST HERE SOON!!!!!!! I hope :lol. I hope he is good too, atlhetic and can play some D, as he has shown signs to.


I really hope so too, but Maccabi, an euro team offered Gist a contract. I'm pretty sure he'll come back to the states though, we need Gist to fill the void at the 3 spot since Bowen's aging as we speak and Ime Udoka can't do shit.

[K-State Spur]

You bet it is. Bitchard would be well within his rights to pass these comments to the league office.

Probably just a passing TIC remark.

Unless he actually threw some numbers at him or discussed it publicly, not a big a deal.

[rayray2k8]

lol oden :lmao

100% fail

[clubalien]

tony parker in another thread is quoted as saying
"
He also said the Spurs are looking for an athletic SF who can shoot. Of course he didn't give any name.
He said Batum could have been that SF."

[clubalien]

tony parker in another thread is quoted as saying
"
He also said the Spurs are looking for an athletic SF who can shoot. Of course he didn't give any name.
He said Batum could have been that SF."

[rayray2k8]

I knew it.. He wants the all french team on his squad. :lol