As Nicolas Batum walked out of one of his favorite Pearl District dinner spots Sunday night, he looked around for his car, thinking it was time to drive back to his home in Lake Oswego.
Then it hit him: He doesn't live in Lake Oswego anymore and his car was nearly 3,000 miles back East in Charlotte.
"It was like, 'Oh, right, I need to get an Uber,'" Batum said, shaking his head at the memory.
It's been a year and a half since Batum stopped calling Portland his home, but old habits, as they say, die hard. The one-time Trail Blazers player has found a home in Charlotte, where he signed a 5-year, $120 million contract extension last summer, and he's established himself as a franchise cornerstone on a team that values his versatility, playmaking and veteran leadership.
But Batum spent some of the most formative years of his adult life in Portland, so, in a sense, there's a part of him that never really left.
"I spent seven years in this city," Batum said Tuesday at the Moda Center, where the Blazers hosted the Hornets. "When I came here, I was technically nothing. I was 19. Didn't speak much English. I was just a young guy. When I left, I was a man. This is always going to be a special place for me. Always. Forever."
Before the Blazers officially decided to blow up their roster and dive headfirst into a massive roster rebuild, they decided they didn't want to invest nine figures in Batum, so they shipped him away for Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson on the night of the 2015 NBA Draft. In hindsight, it's a move many Blazers fans -- who resoundingly cheered Batum during pregame introductions Tuesday night -- have second-guessed.
Especially last summer, when, 1xbet on the heels of the Blazers' surprisingly successful season, President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey decided his team needed another playmaker and ball-handler. Blazers fans couldn't help but wonder: Didn't the Blazers have that player all along in Batum?
"He does a little bit of everything for us," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "He guards primary scorers some nights. He's a cornerstone of our franchise. He's made a huge different in our team (with) his basketball IQ and his versatility at both ends of the floor."
Batum is averaging 14.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game this season, logging career-highs in scoring and assists, while falling a fraction short in rebounds. Evan Turner has quietly been playing his best basketball of the season for the Blazers after a rocky transition, and his playmaking and defense seem to be meshing much better with the starting lineup than with the bench. But there have been countless times this season when it sure looked like the Blazers could have used Batum.
He laughed at the thought Tuesday night.
"They have Evan Turner," he said. "That's what he's doing now. That's why they brought him here. They don't need me ... they traded me. I didn't leave through free agency, I got kicked out. So that means they don't need me."
For what it's worth, Batum said he likes Turner's ability and thinks he deserves a little time to adjust.
"He's one of the best playmakers in this league," Batum said. "I really appreciate his game. He showed that in Boston the last two years. He just needs time. This is a new team for him."
Batum's old team got the best of his new team Tuesday as the Blazers rolled to a 115-98 victory. But Batum had a solid night, finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
And unlike Sunday night after dinner, as he left the Moda Center, he didn't look around aimlessly for his car. He boarded a bus with his new teammates and left for the next game.
"I loved my time here," he said. "But now Charlotte is my home. I fit in great over there. They give me an opportunity and a big role and I'm very happy."
Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman
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