Thursday, November 20, 2008

You so crazy San Antonio!

I'm sure you're all still feeling the glow from last night's 116-74 victory over the Chicago Bulls at the Rose Garden, but if for some reason you're in need of a chuckle this morning, check out this laugher of a trade proposal sent to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
With the Blazers supposedly shopping their young talent on the bench (i.e.; Nick Batum, a.k.a. the “First-Name-on-The-Spurs-Board-in-2008”) for some veteran help in the backcourt, would the Spurs be willing to part with the quintessential coach on the floor, Jacque Vaughn, to get younger? — Sam, San Antonio

I’m not sure how actively the Blazers are shopping Batum, but I do know this: They would never make this deal. Not unless Kevin Pritchard got into some of Josh Howard’s stash, if you know what I mean.
Ahem.

I realize Kevin Pritchard once worked for the Spurs, and both he and Jacque Vaughn are ex-Jayhawks point guards, but as McDonald aptly points out, this proposal is coco-bananas. Sure, Batum is French and "Jacque" is a French name, but I don't think that's enough of a selling point. And by the way, Batum wasn't even born when Vaughn started his NBA career. That's not a joke. Actually, that was a joke. Nic Batum is in fact NOT 10 years old. But the gist is that Vaughn is old, Batum is not.

I bring this up not to make fun of those in the land of the Alamo, but to highlight how well Batum has been playing, especially at home (he's average 8.75 points/game at the Rose Garden, but just 4.25 on the road). When he gets off to a nice start, getting those tip balls and offensive rebounds early, the Trail Blazers seem to follow suit. Batum gets a steal and hits a three to start the game last night, and we end up running away with it. Hustle truly is contagious.

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