TheSportsTrap

A beautiful job by the Trail Blazers PR staff with these videos. Only four have been released thus far, with more coming soon from Ronnie Price, Joel Freeland, JJ Hickson, LaMarcus Aldridge and even new head coach Terry Stotts. I repeat, RONNIE PRICE (no Nolan Smith). The Batum clip, that aired in last night’s dominating performance over the Lakers was spot on, and timing was everything with this one. I couldn’t help but picture thousands of living rooms across Rip City in stone cold silence listening to the reserved, yet budding leader speak about his bright future in Portland. This may sound a little extreme, but I don’t think I’ve listened that attentively to a speech since Obama’s JFK-esque tone during the “Yes We Can” movement. This clip couldn’t have been released to the public at a better time for Nic, taking into account that it aired after his springy first quarter performance, in which the roaming wingman transformed into an active aggressor in the paint, a pest on the offensive boards, and dizzying for defensive team coverage. Batum went from soaring over Kobe to setting forth one of the greatest Rip City commercials of all-time. Most importantly, it reassured those that carried any doubt about Batum’s happiness in Portland. The only thing missing was a quick salute to his agent that did a masterful job at bolstering the demand of his relatively unproven craft. Well done, Batum.

The released videos:

Damian Lillard: “If you don’t prepare, you prepare to fail” Nic Batum: “It’s not 5 vs 5, it’s 5 vs 20,005” Wes Matthews: “There is no Plan B” Meyers Leonard: “I’m willing to give it whatever it takes”