Nicolas Batum 'is coming off a forgettable season': You be the Trail Blazers GM roundtable

Nicolas Batum

Can Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum return to his playmaking form from 2013-14?

(Bruce Ely, The Oregonian/OregonLive)

To accompany your You be the GM comments and votes, we're also including a roundtable discussion with informed opinions of local beat reporters who cover the Portland Trail Blazers for their take on each player on the roster.

Joe Freeman, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Mike Richman, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Casey Holdahl,

Erik Gundersen, The Columbian

Today, our roundtable answers the following question(s): After a rocky 2014-15 season, what's next for the most questioned/scrutinized member of the Trail Blazers? Will Nicolas Batum return to his 2013-14 form as the most versatile player on the roster or end up as a trade chip with an expiring deal?

Joe Freeman | @BlazerFreeman: If you had asked me last summer whether Nicolas Batum was destined to be a trade chip, I would have looked at you like you were crazy. But now? It's no longer the craziest idea. With so much uncertainty hovering over the franchise, every option is on the table for President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey as he schemes to tweak -- and perhaps overhaul -- the Blazers' roster. Batum is coming off a forgettable season that was sabotaged by injuries, fatigue and personal issues. It was stunning considering how much he had developed the previous two seasons under coach Terry Stotts. But that's not why Olshey might consider dealing Batum. If he indeed ends up overhauling the Blazers' roster, Batum -- who would be highly coveted despite his disappointing season --could be a valuable piece in a larger deal that would alter the direction of the franchise. Of course, this is all speculation. It's just as likely that Batum, the second-longest tenured Blazers player, returns to Portland for an eighth season. In fact, if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on a return to Portland. And I'd lay a few more dollars down on this: No matter where Batum plays next season, he'll have an exceptional season. Batum will not only be determined to prove 2014-15 was a fluke, but also extra motivated to excel during a contract year.

Mike Richman


: Nicolas Batum is coming off his worst season in the league. Not just because his counting stats resembled his rookie season output, but because he played poorly for the first 55 games of the season not he heels of his best year ever in 2013-14. So what the heck do you do with Batum? There's basically two camps as I see it. First, he's never been more tradable with an expiring contract and low-asking price in return due to recent production. The other camp would argue that Batum's 2014-15 season was just an ugly blip for a player that is bound to bounce back next season.

I tend to fall in the second camp for Batum because I think a lot of his struggles this season were tied to early season injuries and his depleted confidence that went with four months of shooting bricks. Check his post All-Star shooting splits, they look a lot more Batum-like than the first four months of the season which were admittedly atrocious.

I certainly wouldn't rush to trade him this summer. It seems unlikely that the Blazers can move his contract for a comparable wing and if the trade were to be for a draft pick it seems even more unlikely they'll find a rookie ready to step in and make significant contributions immediately. Furthermore, Batum will still be an 27-year-old multi-skilled wing on a expiring contract in February when the Blazers might be able to garner more valuable asset(s) from teams desperate for trade deadline upgrades. Here's the real kicker for me. There just aren't that many good small forwards in the league. Talented wings are the most scarce NBA asset outside of offensively gifted centers. So moving Batum almost assuredly means a downgrade in production and ability even if it comes at a cheaper price tag. If he gets his wrist healthy and gets his confidence back I wouldn't be surprised to see 2013-14 Batum return, if not he's still a decent trade chip in February.

Casey Holdahl | @Chold: Already the most scrutinized Trail Blazer, Nicolas Batum gave his detractors ample talking points with his performance this season. The 2013-14 season was probably Batum's best in the NBA while his 2014-15 season was undoubtably his worst, so maybe he's due for another career year in 2015-16? That incisive analytical formulation and two dollars will get you a cup of coffee, though at that price, it's probably of suspect quality. Then again, I put cream and sugar in my coffee, so it's really all the same to me.

If Batum's issues in 2014-15 truly stemmed from burnout due to an unexpectedly busy offseason (you can thank some French National Team arm-twisting for that), then there's no reason to believe Batum get back to his yeoman ways. Then again, EuroBasket is set to take place on France this summer, so one wonders if he'll be able to get the mental and physical break he says he needs to get back to his 2013-14 level. For what it's worth, Batum also played quite a bit of offseason international basketball prior to that season as well.

At this point in his career, Batum is still far more valuable as a player than he is as an expiring contract, at least if one assume's this season was an anomaly and not a harbinger of things to come. While the $11.8 million he's reportedly schedule to make next season is nothing to sneeze at, I wonder how valuable expiring deals are going to be with the cap likely to jump precipitously a year from now.

Erik Gundersen | @blazerbanter: It was clear that, after carrying the load in the FIBA World Cup for France, that Nicolas Batum wasn't all the way there. It was surprising that he wasn't told to rest more in the first half of the season given his schedule and the amount of stuff he does for Portland on a nightly basis. The post-All-Star break Batum is closer to the real Batum of the previous two seasons. His 3-point shot was accurate and he took care of the ball a little bit better while maintaining his assist rate at the same level. Batum is very valuable to the Blazers and one of the best wing players in the league when he is healthy both mentally and physically. Nobody on the Blazers more visibly rides the highs and lows of the game quite like Batum. He can wow you and make you scratch your head in the same game, sometimes even in the same possession. He vowed to comeback and be himself this season. However, Portland may be forced to look to trade him should Aldridge elect not to come back to Portland.

The Blazers have a lottery protection on their 2016 pick and it won't be hard to miss the playoffs entirely in the West without Aldridge. It will be even easier to miss the playoffs if they are able to trade Batum and they could conceivably sneak into the top-ten of the 2016 draft, so long as the package of players they are getting is worth it. Simply trading an asset like him just to be worse wouldn't make a whole lot of sense without getting some assets in return. If Aldridge walks and Portland is unable to convince another quality power forward like Paul Millsap or Kevin Love to come to Portland in free-agency, smart money says Batum is going to get dealt. The price for small forwards that do it all is going to go up and Batum's contract will look like a bargain after this summer. Batum's contract is very tradable and he no doubt has fans around the league. He's going to be a very valuable asset to the team either on the court or in deals. He will be 27 when his next contract talks come up and he will likely be able to negotiate another huge pay day in the open check book summer of 2016. Whether Portland wants to commit big money to Batum again in the summer is a question that will be in the minds of the front office. Portland should hope that they are in position to hold on to him but dealing with the mercurial nature of his play is also something they must consider.  If Portland breaks-up with Aldridge, a break-up with Batum seems almost inevitable.

You decide: Should Nicolas Batum stay or go? Cast your vote and post your comments on Batum below.