After the January 25th deadline to extend player contracts passed, Blazers wing Nicolas Batum found himself lacking a shiny new deal. Over the past few seasons, the Trail Blazers front office has said that Batum is a big part of the future of this franchise. Yet their actions regarding a new deal shed some doubt on both their confidence in Batum, as well as his true "value" to the franchise.
Despite lacking a new contract, Batum seemed to be almost freed from the distraction of the sound bytes in the press. Since that time, Batum has played with an aggression and forcefulness that's generally been lacking in his first three NBA seasons. Here are his stats in the 17 games he's played since the 3 p.m. deadline passed on January 25th (including the game against Golden State later that evening):
32.2 mins, 17.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.5 blocks, 49.3% FG, 42.4% 3PT, 82.8% FT
While no numbers came out about what the Blazers were offering, it was likely below deals that similar small forwards Trevor Ariza (5 yr, $33 million), Tayshaun Prince (4 yr, $30 million), Marvin Williams (5 yr, $37.3 million) and Richard Jefferson (4 yr, $39 million). The two most apt comparisons are likely Ariza and Prince, who signed their contracts in 2009 and 2011 (respectively). In their "contract" years, here were their per game numbers (to which I've added Batum's season averages):
*bold indicates leader in category
Ariza: 24.4 min, 8.9 pts, 4.3 rebs, 1.8 ast, 1.7 stl, 0.3 blk, 1.1 TO, 46.0% FG, 31.9% 3PT, 71.0% FT
Prince: 32.8 min, 14.1 pts, 4.2 rebs, 2.8 ast, 0.4 stl, 0.5 blk, 1.1 TO, 47.3% FG, 34.7% 3PT, 70.2% FT
Batum: 28.4 min, 14.3 pts, 4.4 rebs, 1.2 ast, 1.1 stl, 1.1 blk, 1.4 TO, 46.5% FG, 42.0% 3PT, 83.5% FT
As you can see, Batum's numbers compare favorably to either of those two players, and he's also much younger than both Ariza (24) and Prince (31) were when they received their current contracts. It'd be reasonable to believe that Batum should still have some room to grow as a player, which he has done in the past two months. In his current 17 game hot streak, Batum has twice scored 33 points (his career high), set a franchise record for three-pointers made in a single game (nine vs. Denver) and recorded 2+ blocks and steals in the same game five times.
With the uncertainty surrounding whether starting small forward Gerald Wallace will exercise his player option for the 2012-2013 season, I find the lack of true leadership at One Center Court especially troubling. It has been nearly a year since Portland owner Paul Allen fired Rich Cho, citing a "chemistry" issue, and the team still doesn't have a true general manager. Interim GM Chad Buchanan hasn't done a bad job, but its hard not to believe that Paul Allen is the one really pulling the strings.
Over the years, Allen has been far from shy about spending money to improve the team. With the new collective bargaining agreement, however, Allen has now stated that he will avoid the luxury tax threshold from here on out. While I don't have a problem with that, as all businessmen should have the right to make money, the way that Portland has been doing business lately is of concern. Allen fired GM Rich Cho after less than a year on the job, citing "chemistry" issues, which really means that Paul Allen didn't get that "buddy-buddy" feeling he had with Cho's predecessor, Kevin Pritchard.
Regardless of whether Cho's dismissal was right or wrong is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that the team needs to have a full-time general manager in place to make decisions on player personnel, without the owner's continued meddling. And while ownership continues to drag it's feet on finding new leadership, Batum's confidence, and bank account, will continue to grow.
No comments:
Post a Comment