Batum Raider II - the Return

In swap of Nicks, Nor'easter drops Young for Batum

 

Nick Young was discussed here - after Nor'Easter picked him up, he had one good week, one OK week, and then last week, which was quite poor. A-Dan and DeShawn are now getting the great bulk of the G minutes in WAS, and they're even sliding C-But over to SG some to make room for the young big men. N-Young just hasn't produced enough to justify more PT - even when he's good, he's just a points guy. His series of YouTube videos (see below) with fellow WIZ Dominic McGuire are quite amusing, however.

Nicolas Batum was previously profiled here, when the Spoonful picked him up briefly. He's started each of Portland's last 15 games, and while he's been mostly a starter-in-name-only, his last 3 games have been different: he's averaged 24 MPG (versus 14 previously),  11 PPG, 2 3s, 5 reb, 3 AST, 1 STL and a BLK. Very pleasant across the board production. It's hard to imagine his role increasing, especially with Martell It On the Mountain Webster returning soon, though his strong play (and RudyFer's) seems to be contributing to swirling T-Out trade rumors. He's really fun to watch, as well.

Judgment: This looks like a strong, high-upside pickup to us. N-Young's doing nothing, and Batum looks like he can do anything, and that he will contribute at least a little in a number of categories going forward.

Fountain of Young?

Nor'Easter drops Jack for Young, hundreds rejoice

Jarrett Jack, the unexciting PG from Georgia Tech, has been dropped! Jack's the backup PG for IND, meaning that he's the probable beneficiary of any injury to TJ Ford. Even now, he's getting plenty of minutes (27pg), but not doing a lot with them (10/4/1.5). I assume that he's been playing at SG, and hence not getting much in the way of assists. Fewer minutes should be available when Dunleavy returns, but he may very well sustain his 10PPG pace.

Nick Young has a lot more upside, and perhaps even more opportunity, as WAS's backup PG/SG, while Arenas is out. An underperforming Antonio Daniels is his only real backcourt competition (aside from the eternal Juan Dixon). Young went off for 23 points on Saturday, including a remarkable 11-11 from the line (it's remarkable that he got to the line that much). He's surprisingly unassisty, while still being turnovrious, but he could get up to 13PTs.

Judgment: This is basically a trade of a few assists for a few points, and consistency for upside. Joel seems to have the magic touch for upside this year, so I'll go with it. Sadly, I was hoping to pick up Young soon.