Portland Trail Blazers: 30 greatest players in franchise history
By Ben Beecken
- Played seven seasons with Trail Blazers (2008-15)
- Averaged 11.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game
Nicolas Batum was traded from the Houston Rockets to Portland as part of a three-team trade with the Memphis Grizzlies on draft night in 2008. He was the No. 25 pick in the draft out of France and was thought to be a versatile wing with a considerable amount of scoring and playmaking upside.
His ranking here is more a nod to his relative consistency over a lengthy stay in Portland, as he has never quite managed to live up to his ceiling — or the massive contracts he has signed.
Following a solid first four years in the league that saw his scoring and rebounding averages climb each year, Batum signed a $46 million offer sheet with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Portland matched, and he was back with the Blazers for the next three seasons.
The Trail Blazers were in the playoffs in five of Batum’s seven seasons in Portland. In his final two years with the team, he certainly rose to the occasion in postseason play.
During the 2013-14 campaign that saw the Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers and advance to the second round, Batum put up 15.2 points per game while averaging 41.7 minutes per contest and helped his squad complete a first-round upset.
In 2014-15, his last in Portland, Batum scored 14.2 points per game over his five playoff appearances.
Batum was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in 2015 and signed a contract extension with the team in 2016. For a solid of a player as he was for seven years in Portland, he’s now an overpaid 30-year-old in Charlotte that hasn’t quite lived up to star expectations.