NBA Rumors: Portland Trail Blazers Must Retain Nicolas Batum

The Portland Trail Blazers should have a busy upcoming offseason, what with a general manager and coach to hire, free agents to court and lottery picks to scout.

But the most important move for the team will be making sure restricted free agent Nicolas Batum sticks around. Team President Larry Miller said as much.

From Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune:

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Batum seems likely to command a contract in the neighborhood of $9 million per season.

"Right now, our plan is to retain him," Miller says. "Hopefully, (another team) doesn't make him a crazy offer."

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Batum is only 23-years-old and has shown consistent improvement in each of his first four seasons, averaging career highs in points (14.0) and rebounds per game (4.6) this season.

And he, Wesley Matthews and of course LaMarcus Aldridge represent this team's young core and will be the key pieces moving forward for a Portland team sure to undergo big changes this offseason.

Losing Batum now would hurt, big time.

Obviously, the Blazers will be at the mercy of the offer sheets other teams present to Batum. If someone decides to blow him away with lucrative, unrealistic offer, the Blazers will have to make a very key decision.

But if the price is high but not insanely so, the Blazers need to match and lock Batum up. He's going to be a stud, mark my words.

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