previous Portland Trail Blazers Forward Nicolas Batum recalls what the franchise did.
In a recent Twitter Q & A Started by a 14-year NBA veteran and is now a member Los Angeles Clippers, Batum was asked for which of his previous teams he wants to play again? His answer: Blazers 2009-2010 iteration — one caveat.
There have been many changes since the 2009-2010 season. Batum is in the NBA for the second year. Damian Lillard, a Blazers franchise star, was a little-known second-year student at Weber State University. Mike and Mike were still on the air. And the Blazers have an up-and-coming roster centered around the core of three-time All-Star Brandon Roy, the future All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, and the 2007 NBA No. 1 draft topic, Greg Oden.
Roy averaged 21.5 points, 4.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds that season. Aldridge averaged 17.9 points and 8.0 rebounds. Oden provided a defensive anchor to an aggressive one-on-two punch in his third season at the club, averaging 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 23.9 minutes. The 7-footer only appears in 21 games of the season, and everything begins after his left patella, which broke in December, set him aside for the rest of the year. This will be the last time Oden has played in a Portland NBA game.
The injured bug also bite Batum that season. He played only in 37 regular season games, averaging 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds, shooting over 40% from the three-point line.
Despite Oden and Batum missing most of the year, Portland finished the 2009-2010 season with a record of 50-32. This is enough to get 6th place at the Western Conference.The Blazers bounced off NBA playoffs In the first round, take the third seed Phoenix suns For 6 games.
After dismissing Portland, Sands, led by two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and all-star big man Amarrestau Damia, advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
Batum, now 33, began his NBA career in Portland and spent seven seasons in the franchise between 2008 and 2015. Like Aldridge, he has a unique perspective of playing an integral role in both the Roy and Lillard eras. After spending time in Portland, Batum joined the Clippers before the 2020-2021 season after spending five seasons in Charlotte.
This isn’t the first time Batum has looked back on his time with the Blazers on Twitter’s Q & A. last month, He revealed Former Blazers point guard Andre Miller was the most taught NBA teammate in his career. The two played together in Portland for two seasons. The first was the 2009-2010 campaign.
Like many blazer loyal men, Batum is fantasizing about how the trio of Roy, Aldridge, and Oden could have been healthy for years to come.
