I think we zigged when we should’ve zagged...

Yes, this heading would’ve been better had we been in the running to sign Ronny Turiaf and then signed someone else instead because, you know, Turiaf is from Gonzaga and… OK, my puns can be a stretch at times, I admit it. Forget the whole Gonzaga attempt and focus with me on what happened with the Blazers…

I heard this morning that the Blazers did the opposite of what I posted in this blog yesterday. They signed the wrong guy – Batum instead of Koponen; hence the heading. The heading by the way, is a saying my grandpa, affectionately known as Gramps, used to say. Another one of his quotes that I’ll never forget is one he probably said a dozen times when we visited him during spring break in Orlando in 1984 and we went to see the Dodgers vs. the Reds in spring training at a park in Kissimmee… he said, “It’s pronounced Kis-simm-ee in the morning and Kiss-im-mee at night.” (Hmm… maybe that’s where the humorous genes come from. And I’m not talking about acid washed either! HA HA!)

Oh my! My side is aching. I better get back to the Blazers before I kill my blog ratings (21 hits so far – most of them me). So Batum instead of Koponen. I don’t get it. We have 2 solid guys at the small forward position. We also have Roy and Fernandez who could easily play there in a 3-guard line-up. Like Blake, Bayless, and Roy along with LaMarcus and Oden… not a bad line-up. I admit we would have a serious log-jam at the point if we kept Koponen, but we aren’t as deep in talent at the point. I like Sergio but know that he is a very poor defender and sketchy shooter. At the least he’s inconsistent. Why are we going to lose a guy with the skills and promise of Koponen to keep a guy who’s much smaller and inconsistent? Koponen is 6’5” and plays solid D. That’s not an easy thing to find at the point. I know he needs some more development but I’d much rather be giving the scrub time to him than Sergio. I think they must be trying to keep Sergio as a comfort piece for Rudy Fernandez, just to help him get acclimated to the game and help communicate some of the nuances. Beyond that, I don’t get this move at all.

Batum is a replica of hundreds of other guys out there with potential. He has a long wingspan, true… but woopidee doo! If he isn’t driven internally to do anything with that wingspan then he’ll be just another Darius Miles as far as athletic potential. Potential is an intangible that is dependant on the individual mental make-up of the player. I’m sure Batum’s moral compass isn’t as pathetically lame as Darius’ but I still think it’s going to take him too long to get self-motivated to the point where he is productive enough to see the court during an actual game. Is he the next Tayshaun Prince? Or the next Jamaal Wilkes? Or the next Scottie Pippen? I’ve heard all three comparisons. I think he’s the next Ha Seung-Jin.

Potential is wasteful if it doesn’t come to fruition. We are willing to sink time and money into an unknown rather than on a known commodity. Every once in while that risk can pay off. Look at Ardydas Sabonis and hopefully Rudy Fernandez. But then remember Ha Seung Jin. Which path will Batum follow? The Blazers are willing to risk that unknown on something they see, and I apparently missed that something during the summer league. Batum had maybe 4 or 5 plays in 4 games were good. He played a ton of minutes this summer. It certainly didn’t seem like his productivity or teamwork merited a contract. Did he make those around him better? Did he elevate his game and shine above the other prospects? Did he motivate the team with his leadership ability? No, no, and no.

I think Koponen showed all three of those things at times and that’s why I think we zigged when we should’ve zagged.