Sources: Spurs eyeing F Nicolas Batum

[Mel_13]

Well, the key is a mutual uber interest beetween Batum & The Spurs, with The Blazers being willing to facilitate the deal, while getting a cheaper young role player (who's developing very well in a contending team) and an end contract which perhaps can be bought out.

A long shot and unequal trade indeed, but if Pau Gasol can be traded for bags of burritos, everything goes.

The old "If the Gasol trade could happen, then anything is possible".

If Portland were willing to replace Batum with Green, they wouldn't need to take back Jack's contract. They could simply let Batum leave and then sign Green to a contract too rich for the Spurs to match(oh yeah, your scenario also calls for both Batum and Green to agree to S&T deals). The Blazers will have a ton of cap space this summer.

[GSH]

Maybe I'm just cynical, but doesn't it look like all the "inside information" for this article came from Batum's agent?

[elemento]

were we going for batum in the 2008 draft?
it's pretty weird how portland swoops in and takes him 1 pick ahead of ours (draft day trade with houston). did he even workout with them?

oh well. we picked george hill, which eventually lead to leonard. YAY

Yes

And it's not weird considering Pritchard was Portland's GM back in 2008. It would be nice to get Batum back then, but considering how things worked out (we got Hill and traded him for Leonard + Erazem rights and Bertans) I am pretty happy about the outcome.

Batum is not worth 10/11m. I pass

Overrated defender and inconsistent offensively.

[Mr. Body]

Batum won't be a Spurs for at least 3 reasons:
1. Kawhi Leonard rise.
2. Spurs likely can't have enough capspace to get him after the Jack trade.
3. Blazers want to keep him and re-build their team around Aldridge, Batum and Matthews.

But really, what happened to the Blazers? Building around Aldridge is one thing, but are Batum and Matthews really guys to form any kind of core?

And how is Batum going to command $10-11 per? Seems like an awful lot of money for that guy.

[coyotes_geek]

Well, the key is a mutual uber interest beetween Batum & The Spurs, with The Blazers being willing to facilitate the deal, while getting a cheaper young role player (who's developing very well in a contending team) and an end contract which perhaps can be bought out.

Batum is younger than Green and can be had cheaper than Jack. There's zero reason for Portland to have any interest in facilitating such a deal.

A long shot and unequal trade indeed, but if Pau Gasol can be traded for bags of burritos, everything goes.

That "bag of burritos" the Grizzlies got included an all-star center. Far more than the blazers would be getting out of a Green+Jackson for Batum swap.

[timvp]

I just wonder how much of Batum's regression has to do with the instability of the Blazers organization - including the many incoming and outgoing players, lineup changes and front office upheaval. While he's virtually played his entire career under the coaching of Nate McMillian, he's been yanked in and out of the lineup and now has changed positions. And who knows what type of offseason instructional program he's gotten? Obviously, it's the player's responsibility to get better, but I wonder if Batum would've been further along in his development had he been with a more stable organization?

Good questions; I've had similar thoughts. Batum might have developed into a beast in the Spurs system. Pop wouldn't have let him fall off a cliff defensively and would have given him room to grow offensively. In a parallel universe where the Spurs landed Batum, it wouldn't be too surprising if he were an All-Star.

And don't even get me started on how the RJ trade would have never happened if the Spurs landed Batum in the draft




Then again, Batum wouldn't have been enough to put the Spurs over the top the last four years and I'm more than happy with Leonard ... so maybe this was what had to happen to give the Spurs a shot at #5.

[romain.star]

For 7 mil, Portland will claim him, or whatever picking RFA option is called, and be thankful for quick rebuild.

I am not a racist, but I wouldnt trust my future with guy named Bouna Ndiaye.

I'm sorry to tell you that but you are a racist

[mercos]

I am very happy with our current combo of Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Jackson. Combining those two with Danny Green gives us the perfect mix of offense and defense from our wing players outside of Parker and Ginobili. Honestly, right now I would be ecstatic if we keep the current roster intact. With the exception of James Anderson, nearly everyone on the roster contributes in a positive way right now. If we can not win with the players we have right now, we will not be winning in the big three era again.

[TimmehC]

Meh. He'd be a good option at the 2, but he's definitely not worth that kind of money.

[will_spurs]

Apparently Batum's agent doesn't understand restricted free agency either.

I think he does. RFA only means the Blazers can match any offer, not that his agent can't shop him to the whole league before going back to the Blazers. I'm pretty sure there's an amount of money the Blazers aren't willing to pay. And I'm also pretty sure Batum will get a qualifying offer higher than what the Blazers could have signed for his extension.

I am not a racist, but I wouldnt trust my future with guy named Bouna Ndiaye.

I'm afraid that's exactly the definition of being racist.

[timvp]

I am not a racist, but I wouldnt trust my future with guy named Bouna Ndiaye.

That's an odd statement from a Spurs fan considering Ndiaye is the agent the Spurs trust the most ... by far. He's the one who hid Mahinmi to allow the Spurs to draft him. He also shut down Batum after the Spurs said they'd draft him. Plus, Ndiaye even floated an enlarged heart rumor to further try to lower Batum's stock so he'd drop to San Antonio.

[TDMVPDPOY]

this is another trevor ariza waiting to happen...some stupid team will overpay for his services

[SenorSpur]

That's an odd statement from a Spurs fan considering Ndiaye is the agent the Spurs trust the most ... by far. He's the one who hid Mahinmi to allow the Spurs to draft him. He also shut down Batum after the Spurs said they'd draft him. Plus, Ndiaye even floated an enlarged heart rumor to further try to lower Batum's stock so he'd drop to San Antonio.

True dat! Don't diss the pipeline.

I would wonder whether Ndiaye has any other low-profile, talented, future prospects that could be on the Spurs long-term radar?

[Venti Quattro]

de Colo, Diaw, Parker, Batum...are you trying to hoard the French national team?

[Mal]

I'm sorry to tell you that but you are a racist

hmmm, then I suppose I have a problem

[GSH]

Edit: Sorry, just a mis-read. Thanks O_V for setting me straight.

I do agree with the OP that this would usually be an off-season article. I think Batum knows how much better off he would have been, if the Spurs had drafted him instead. That's got to be a bitter pill to swallow, when you're so sure you're going to a great team.

[Obstructed_View]

I thought this was a thread necro from four years ago. Batum is a nice player if you are desperately in need of a long three. The Spurs aren't anymore.

Furthermore, Batum hasn't really developed. The only reason his points have gone up is because he's taking way more shots. Leonard has developed more in a shortened, no-camp season than Batum has in his entire career.

[Obstructed_View]

I don't think it's odd,

I'm guessing you misread something before, because I'm betting that you agree that it's odd for Mal to say that he wouldn't trust an agent just because he has an African name, particularly one who has been so cooperative with the Spurs.

Sorry for the ROS

[GSH]

BTW - I presume that everyone is agreeing that the Spurs would have taken Batum, if Houston/Portland hadn't snatched him right ahead of them. So do you think the Spurs would have tried to trade up to get Hill, too? It's obvious that they really liked him. And it seems like there was a lot of maneuvering in that draft. Back then we thought Hill was a complete unknown, but afterwards there were lots of stories that the C's, and maybe others, would have taken him ahead of the Spurs' second pick. Would they have tried to get both?

[GSH]

I'm guessing you misread something before, because I'm betting that you agree that it's odd for Mal to say that he wouldn't trust an agent just because he has an African name, particularly one who has been so cooperative with the Spurs.

Sorry for the ROS

No, thanks for setting me straight. I did mis-read that. I swear, I thought it was a response to what I had posted. No, that comment about not trusting an agent because of an African name was pure ignorance. I've never agreed with anyone saying things like that. Never will.

[Bruno]

I just wonder how much of Batum's regression has to do with the instability of the Blazers organization - including the many incoming and outgoing players, lineup changes and front office upheaval. While he's virtually played his entire career under the coaching of Nate McMillian, he's been yanked in and out of the lineup and now has changed positions. And who knows what type of offseason instructional program he's gotten? Obviously, it's the player's responsibility to get better, but I wonder if Batum would've been further along in his development had he been with a more stable organization?

IMO, Blazers made two big mistakes with Batum.
First, they let him play through a shoulder injury and it ended up with a surgery that cost him half a season.
Second, they traded for Gerald Wallace which put Batum in a complicate roster situation.

[Obstructed_View]

BTW - I presume that everyone is agreeing that the Spurs would have taken Batum, if Houston/Portland hadn't snatched him right ahead of them. So do you think the Spurs would have tried to trade up to get Hill, too? It's obvious that they really liked him. And it seems like there was a lot of maneuvering in that draft. Back then we thought Hill was a complete unknown, but afterwards there were lots of stories that the C's, and maybe others, would have taken him ahead of the Spurs' second pick. Would they have tried to get both?

I don't think so. I think losing Batum completely threw them, and they took Hill because he was at the top of their board and they didn't have time to trade down.

[Duncan2177]

The spurs need to get a bigman this offseason.

[SpursDynasty85]

Is Stephen Jackson eligible for the amnesty? If so, would this create enough room to go after Batum and re-sign Duncan?

[Hooks]

The spurs need to get a bigman this offseason.

They already have a really good lineup of TD/Diaw/Splitter/Bonner/Blair, I think their front line is set.

Diaw fits the Spurs perfectly and can be had for just MLE. The only other big man out there that could contribute anywhere near what Diaw does for the Spurs is Kaman and he'd be too expensive. Most bigs are overpaid and are really overrated.


Anyways the only way I could see them getting Batum is by trading Jackson...