Neil Olshey wants Aldridge and Batum to take leadership role of the team and drive them into the upper echelons of the Western Conference....
Portland Trail Blazers were one of the better team in the NBA a few years ago, with break out talent Brandon Roy clearly the leader of the team and their best player.
Roy led the Trail Blazers to some good seasons, earned All Star honours in the process and had Portland fans excited about a new beginning about the franchise.
Then, Roy suffered knee injuries which he did not recover from, and Portland let him go.
Now, the Trail Blazers have a new talent making headlines in the NBA. LaMarcus Aldridge is already an All Star, and missed out on playing the London Olympics this year after a suffering a season ending injury. Aldridge is by far
the best player on the Blazers roster, and gradually becoming the leader of the team.
The Trail Blazers also locked in Nicolas Batum this offseason when they matched Minnesota Timberwolves four year $46 million offer to the restricted free agent. Now, they are looking for him to step up as well.
Portland’s new General Manager, Neil Olshey, was talking on KGW Sports Sunday in Portland when he stressed on the need for Aldridge and Batum to take on the leadership role of this young group of players.
“LaMarcus did a great job, he’s a real leader. He’s the one who orchestrated these voluntary offseason workouts so I’m excited about him kind of taking over the locker room and being a solid voice of leadership for the young guys.
When we met with Nic prior to him signing it, that was something he really wanted. He wanted to embrace being one of the leaders on the team. Having more responsibility on both ends of the ball,” said Olshey.
Aldridge will be the go-to guy for the Trail Blazers next season, as he hopes to make the transition from breakout talent to being one of the best forwards in the league. His play will ultimately determine how much of an influence
he has in the locker room, and is the best candidate to become the franchise player and leader of Portland.
Batum is also a talented young player who is making the transition to the big league. For Portland to succeed in the NBA of today, Batum needs to step up as well and share the load with Aldridge.
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