Esteban Batista

[JamStone]

As horrible as the Hawks have been the last two seasons, why didn't they play this guy at all? If nothing else, he plays tough and without fear. I assumed he was a complete scrub because he couldn't even get on the court for the Hawks.

[ChumpDumper]

Damn, he's gotta be getting some offers after this game. As for Atlanta -- who knows? I guess he's just been buried behind a lot of young sucky players that needed playing time to develop.

[Medvedenko]

Carlos Arroyo #2....

[Dex]

It seems like Shane Heal put up 28 points against the '96 Dream Team in an exhibition game.

Must've been a sign. :rolleyes

[ChumpDumper]

It is FIBA, but he's been pretty impressive this entire tournament considering what must have been expected from him. I know I didn't expect this.

[ChumpDumper]

You know what, Batista's minutes look suspiciously low against the two best teams in the tournament -- the US and Argentina -- especially when you consider his foul totals for each game.

http://www.2007lasvegas.fibaamericas.com/pages/eng/fe/07/fibaAmer/men/teamPlay/play/p/eventid/3965/langlc/en/playernumber/45592/roundid/5731/fe_teamPlay_playStat.html

It looks like his coach kept him from playing too much those games to keep him fresh for the games that seem more realistically winnable.

[JamStone]

It seems like Shane Heal put up 28 points against the '96 Dream Team in an exhibition game.

Must've been a sign. :rolleyes

Could be, but Batista has been putting up numbers all tournament long. And, if you watched him against Team USA, his points were not cheap just because it was an "exhibition" game. He was taking it to Dwight Howard and Amare.

[Dalhoop]

I hear that is a FA this year, maybe he was playing for a new contract. As for Atlanta, they have had "good" PF's that need time to develop, but if this kid was showing that effert and fight in practice you would think that a coach would see something .... Then again, we are talking about the Hawks

[ChumpDumper]

Vegas showcase

In two largely underwhelming seasons in Atlanta, Esteban Batista, a 6-foot-10-inch center/forward from Uruguay, appeared in 70 games. He averaged a shade more than 8 minutes a game. If you weren't a Hawks zealot, assuming such a person even exists, you may not have known he was in the league. Batista is now a free agent and he certainly turned some heads in Las Vegas, averaging 20.8 points and a tournament-best 12.4 rebounds for Uruguay. (He had 20 points in 24 minutes against the United States.) "This tournament was important for me," Batista said. "I didn't play too much in my two years in the NBA. Now, I feel like I've done a good job." But did he do well enough to get a job in the NBA? His new agent, Marc Cornstein, said he's confident Batista will land something. (Cornstein even text-messaged Danny Ainge about Batista, but got no satisfactory response. "Don't they need size?" Cornstein asked of the Celtics.) "That's why this tournament was so essential because so few teams knew enough about him and he got the opportunity to show what kind of a player he is," said Cornstein, who counts Darko Milicic and Sasha Pavlovic as clients. "He was phenomenal. The thing I was happiest and proudest about is that he showed no fear. He played the same against [Dwight] Howard or [Amare] Stoudemire as he did against Venezuela or Panama. That's the mark of a good player." Batista turns 24 today.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2007/09/02/hes_not_pointed_this_way/?page=4

[JamStone]

I think he'd be a nice big for Phoenix, who really doesn't have much big man depth. The Clippers should also inquire about him, as well as Orlando.