NBA
NBA AM: Batum Thought Blazers Had More Time
Batum Thought Blazers Had More Time
Like Marlon Brandoโs character Terry Malloy in โOn the Waterfont,โ the Portland Trail Blazers couldโa been a contender, but all it took was one linchpin player choosing to bolt for greener pastures for everything to fall apart. Of last yearโs five regular starters, only Damian Lillard now remains, while LaMarcus Aldridge, Wes Matthews, Robin Lopez and Nicolas Batum are having varying degrees of success at new addresses.
Batum, a quarter of the way through his first season with the Charlotte Hornets, has settled onto his new team and into his new role there, but even he admits that the way everything fell apart so quickly with such a promising roster was pretty shocking for the players involved.
โIt was surprising because we were still so young,โ Batum told Basketball Insiders. โItโs not like we were some old team with guys that needed to start over again somewhere fresh. Iโm 26 years old. Dame is 25. Wes is only 29. [LaMarcus] just turned 30, and Robin Lopez just turned 27. We were still young. I thought we had another run.โ
They did not, however, as the Blazers shipped off every major piece on the roster older than Lillard, replacing them with guys more on Lillardโs career arc in an attempt to remain reasonably competitive without having to completely rebuild.
Still, everything turned when Aldridge made his decision to join the San Antonio Spurs, which Batum isnโt even remotely upset about.
โI understand his choice,โ Batum said. โHe had done a lot of things for the Portland franchise, but to get a chance with the Spurs to win a ring right away? I think a lot of people would have done the exact same thing.
โHe wanted to go to another place to win a championship, and I respect that. Iโm not mad about it, but I was surprised. It was a good run, and it was fun, but itโs time to move on.โ
Interestingly, Batum feels as if his new team in Charlotte is developing into a group with the same sort of promise that Portland once exhibited, even if they are still a year or two away. He sees a lot of similarities between Lillard and Kemba Walker, for example.
โTheyโre not really different,โ Batum said of Lillard and Walker. โOne thing thatโs similar is that both guys want to win no matter what. Dame wanted to win and showed that he could do anything to win a game, and Kemba has shown that so far too. Heโs gotten better, so much better than last year. I knew he was good, but heโs so much better. Heโs more patient, making better decisions. Heโs just more mature.โ
Most importantly, though, is that what happened with the Blazers, where everything fell apart at the peak of so many core playersโ careers, isnโt likely to happen in Charlotte. That’s because Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and head coach Steve Clifford all have been given extensions recently enough to ensure theyโll be with the team for the long haul.
โBy signing Kemba and MKG to extensions, re-signing the coach, that shows that weโre not just building something for this year and next year,โ Batum said. โNo, weโre looking long-term with this group of guys. Thatโs good for the fan base, the players, everybody.
โYou canโt just do something like this for one year. It takes time. Itโs a process, but this style of things is good. Weโre young, weโre talented, we like the coach. Hopefully we can keep this same group of guys for a couple years.โ
Doing so would keep Batum from having to watch another young, talented core fall apart at the apex of its progress. Whatโs different this time, though, is that Batum isnโt one of those young kids anymore. Now, heโs the veteran.
โIโve had different roles in my career. I was a rookie once, and then the last couple of years Iโve been looked on more as a playmaker to fit alongside LaMarcus and Dame,โ Batum said. โNow, Iโm on a different team but I sort of feel like my role is the same. The situation is just different. The coaching staff expects me to be a leader since Iโm really the only older guy on the team other than Al Jefferson. Thatโs a new challenge for me.โ
Still, itโs one that he welcomes, and he insists that heโs happy with his new team and that heโs in it for the long haul.
โIโm all good. The city is different, but the coach is great, my teammates are great,โ Batum said.
โWeโre young, and weโve got a ton of new guys too, so we still have to adjust to the new system and the new teammates. It will take time, and weโre doing well. Weโre above .500 and weโve played against some big time teams. Weโve beaten big teams too, so thatโs encouraging. Weโll keep getting better.โ
In a tight Eastern Conference, thatโs going to be paramount.
โEverybody in the East is in it this year,” Batum said. “Everybody talks about the Western Conference, but the East is pretty good. Even the teams nobody talks about, like the Celtics, Detroit, Orlando, us, a lot of teams have really gotten better since last year and thatโs made a big difference.โ
That has led to an Eastern Conference playoff picture that currently has 13 teams seriously competing for a spot in the postseason. Charlotte currently has the second-most wins in the East (13), but theyโre only four games ahead of the 13th-best team in the conference. A lot can happen with that many competitive teams, but Batum thinks his squad is up to the challenge.
โItโs going to be like that until April 15th,” Batum said. “Weโre going to have to battle all year long.โ
Portland, meanwhile, is five games below .500 and doesnโt look like theyโll have much of a shot at the postseason, proving that sometimes, startling change can be a blessing. What must have been a shock several months ago has turned out fairly well for Batum. It has turned out fairly well for a lot of other former Blazers too, and someday weโll figure out who fared the best from that group of former Portland players. But what weโll never know is how good they might have been had they stuck together.