Batum or Hill?

[SenorSpur]

Batum is more unique and skilled that most people think. IMO, the only current NBA player that rivals his skill set is Trevor Ariza. Because that skill set is NOT on the Spurs roster, he also makes sense.

[angelbelow]

really really tough, but i am going to go with hill.

[mystargtr34]

I get your point. But Batum is already a productive NBA player.
At worst he will be a good defensive SF who can knock the open 3s and run the floor.

This is not a "potential all-star" who will maybe never be a legit NBA player (like Mahinmi).

Whats the general consensus in France - whos the better prospect/better player.

Mahinmi or Batum?

[TheDarkSide.]

Don't worry, Batum will join the Spurs in the future. He was pissed that he got picked by Houston in the draft. He really wanted to come to the Spurs..

Where'd you hear this? Interesting i'd love him here.

[wildbill2u]

We have what we have. We didn't get a lottery pick either. Let's move on.

[Brazil]

Whats the general consensus in France - whos the better prospect/better player.

Mahinmi or Batum?

Batum !

[Mr. Body]

sure, Batum is a very nice prospect..but I'm just saying, I think we'd have a better chance at finding a Batum through the draft in future years, or through free agency.

Yes, because we've had such luck finding that guy already...

[HarlemHeat37]

we haven't needed a SF, we've had the best perimeter defender of this generation..

[Mr. Body]

Bowen is eleventy billion years old. Maybe you're too young to remember. The years between Sean and Bowen were a nightmare.

[Bruno]

I don't really see the point of this thread since Batum wasn't available for Spurs pick. It isn't a "shoulda" thread.

[Mr. Body]

I don't really see the point of this thread since Batum wasn't available for Spurs pick. It isn't a "shoulda" thread.

What's the point of any of these threads?

[exstatic]

1 2 3 4 5

Those are the positional notations in basketball. The rule of thumb is that the hardest to draft and develop are the ones on the ends, the 1s and 5s. That should answer your question. Wing players, SGs and SFs are much more common and findable than any other in b-ball. , just look at Portland's roster with Batum, Outlaw, and Webster. They were probably stupid for not drafting Hill.

[Captain Oblivious]

1 2 3 4 5

Those are the positional notations in basketball. The rule of thumb is that the hardest to draft and develop are the ones on the ends, the 1s and 5s. That should answer your question. Wing players, SGs and SFs are much more common and findable than any other in b-ball. , just look at Portland's roster with Batum, Outlaw, and Webster. They were probably stupid for not drafting Hill.

Bingo! not even close, George Hill. In today's NBA I am tempted to say 1 then 5 then 4, 3, 2.

[Mr. Body]

1 2 3 4 5

Those are the positional notations in basketball. The rule of thumb is that the hardest to draft and develop are the ones on the ends, the 1s and 5s. That should answer your question. Wing players, SGs and SFs are much more common and findable than any other in b-ball. , just look at Portland's roster with Batum, Outlaw, and Webster. They were probably stupid for not drafting Hill.

You might have noticed we already have an All-Pro at the PG. Name of Tony Parker? Won't be fading for years?

Meanwhile our SF is just about done. You'd rather draft a full-time, lifetime bench player over a starting-caliber SF? Seriously?

[exstatic]

You might have noticed we already have an All-Pro at the PG. Name of Tony Parker? Won't be fading for years?

Meanwhile our SF is just about done. You'd rather draft a full-time, lifetime bench player over a starting-caliber SF? Seriously?

You'll notice that with our All NBA 5 and our All Star 1, we've been doing just fine with plug in 2s,3s, and 4s, Manu excepted.

I've always been a fan of "best available" drafting, not drafting for "need". Don't you need 12-15 players on your roster at a number of positions? I'd rather go with our current crop of wings than play Jacques Vaughn another minute.

I also don't think Hill will be a "full time life time bench player".

[Sage]

I don't know if you guys saw it but last time I saw a do entary about Batum and Ajinca going through the draft process. It was clear that he wanted to be a Spur. He also didn't seem to want to go to the Blazers which he knew were after him. So, I could definitely see him going to the spurs once his contract expires. (You can check on Youtube - it's in French though).

[picnroll]

Hard cap is going to take care of Batum's availability down the road.

Like Bruno said, Batum wasn't available. You'd have to say though Spurs scouting probably had pegged two of the absolute best available near their pick. Better than some of Body's choices for sure.

[Mr. Body]

Hard cap is going to take care of Batum's availability down the road.

Like Bruno said, Batum wasn't available. You'd have to say though Spurs scouting probably had pegged two of the absolute best available near their pick. Better than some of Body's choices for sure.

Some of my choices were better than the team's.

Last summer my picks were:
1st round - Courtney Lee
2nd round - George Hill

Not bad. Of course, neither was available with those picks, but I recognized their talent. Batum was above either of them, but I didn't figure teams would let him stupidly slip the way they did.

[picnroll]

Some of my choices were better than the team's.

Last summer my picks were:
1st round - Courtney Lee
2nd round - George Hill

Not bad. Of course, neither was available with those picks, but I recognized their talent. Batum was above either of them, but I didn't figure teams would let him stupidly slip the way they did.

Actually after the Hill pick you pimped Arthur and Grenne

Mr Body - PT - This is the crux of it. They were obviously high on Hill, but whenever you are reaching for a player, there is value to be had in your draft position. Apparently they didn't even try to trade back to get another asset or two while still selecting their back-up 'PG'. Especially with two guys (Greene, Arthur) still there, it is imperative to get more value. Wellk, just like the Rockets did. They got their player, plus Dorsey.

Neither of these guys has produced as much as Hill and both are on lottery bait teams.

[mathbzh]

1 2 3 4 5

Those are the positional notations in basketball. The rule of thumb is that the hardest to draft and develop are the ones on the ends, the 1s and 5s. That should answer your question. Wing players, SGs and SFs are much more common and findable than any other in b-ball. , just look at Portland's roster with Batum, Outlaw, and Webster. They were probably stupid for not drafting Hill.

You know, this is why:
- Sam Bowie was drafted before Jordan
- Kwame, Darko, Olowokandi... are some of the top busts in NBA history.

You have two pick the best player available regardless of his position.
So, if you consider Hill and Batum have the same talent, you may have to go with the PG. I pick Batum because I consider he is more talented (of course I may be wrong) not because he is a SF.

[mathbzh]

Bingo! not even close, George Hill. In today's NBA I am tempted to say 1 then 5 then 4, 3, 2.

Come back when a team built around a PG win something.
NBA is pimping the PG (it probably as something to do with these tiny guys among giants... players with almost the same size than us)

Paul, Kobe, Lebron, Duncan and maybe Howard...
NBA top players covers all the positions.

[mathbzh]

Whats the general consens)us in France - whos the better prospect/better player.

Mahinmi or Batum?

Batum! not even close

Batum was the leader for the french team (U16 european champion, U18 european champion, bronze medal in U19 World Championship).
Last season Batum was the leader for Le Mans (best scorer, best passer, third rebounder), the best team in the regular season. Now, he also has some valuable NBA experience, has defended (fairly well) Kobe, Lebron, Wade, TMac, Peja...

Batum has more skills, more talent, more experience.
He is just as athletic as Mahinmi.

All Mahinmi has is that he is big and could virtually be a "dominant bigman".

I hope in one year I will have to review my judgment, but right now there is absolutely no debate.

[ManuTP9]

Batum

[Bruno]

Not worth starting a thread but Batum write a kind of blog and he gives some interesting Spurs related infos.

http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/spor...41339_actu.Htm

Tony Parker scored 39 points with San Antonio on us. A member of the Blazers' staff then tell me: “He is the best PG in the world. ” I answered him: “There is also Chris Paul”. But the question deserves to be asked.

The trade period has ended. in Portland, all the players except Oden, Roy and Przybilla were more or less concerned. I know that San Antonio called for me. But Portland FO immediately hung up. Relating to me, there were advance negotiations with Bobcats. At a moment, I told to myself that I was maybe going there.

So Spurs are still after Batum.
After the "hear problem" trick, that almost worked, Spurs have been unlucky a second time.
Had Martell Webster not been injured for the whole year, Batum would have been in the doghouse and maybe Spurs could have had him at the trade deadline. With Webster out, Batum has played more and has been able to show Portland all his qualities.

[Yuixafun]

I haven't watched Batum enough to comment about his defensive consistency, but Hill doesn't take a second off on the defensive end. He's already a good defender, and he's getting better. He's smart, and he works his ass off.

After the block on JJ Barea GHill got caught up in a muchismo game with him. I like the competiveness but that speaks poorly about his poise.

He got the worse end of it, not running the offense, drawing some silly fouls and letting Barea get under his skin.

In general though Hill does well defensively though.