Batum making most of experience with France at EuroBasket

The two stiches over Nicolas Batum's right eye came from a love tap straight out of France.

At least if you ask the French National Team culprit Joakim Noah that's how it went down.

"He knows it's all love," said Noah, the Chicago Bulls center, who inadvertently delivered an elbow to Batum during their bout against Serbia.

"I gave him those stiches, but it is just part of the game."

While Batum never saw Noah's elbow coming, the Portland Trail Blazers forward envisioned a summer mixed with excitement and uncertainty. The excitement: the chance to represent his country at EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania. The uncertainty: not knowing if an NBA lockout would threaten his return to Rip City.

As Batum has discovered since the Dallas Mavericks eliminated the Blazers from the postseason in six games, the last five months have been like a shot to the dome.

You shake it off and get back in the game, and that's exactly what the 22-year-old out of Lisieux, France did.

When Batum read the work stoppage writing on the wall around the NBA, he, along with his agent Bouna Ndiaye, actively ramped up negotiations and signed to play next season with SLUC Nancy, the reigning 2011 champions in the French Pro A and Euroleague.

"I signed quickly with Nancy because I didn't want the focus to be on if or when I was going to play overseas. I wanted the focus to be on the National Team," said Batum, who played for Le Mans Sarthe Basket in France from 2006-08 before jumping to the NBA.

"That was important for me. I always said that when the lockout starts I didn't want to be stuck without a team for three months. What am I going to do? Stop playing after the European Championships? No, I can't do that. I have to play."

Yet even after signing with SLUC Nancy, Batum's heart remains in the NBA and in Portland. Can you blame him? Back in 2008 Portland acquired the 6-foot-8 forward's rights from the Houston Rockets on draft night for the rights to Darrell Arthur and Joey Dorsey. In three quick seasons, his game (a career high 12.4 points per game last season) has matured as a defensive specialist for Nate McMillan, and equally blossomed away from the court, too.

"When I first arrived in Portland, I was a shy kid," Batum said. "But there is nothing like the Blazers. Portland is very special to me. It's not every town you go to in the NBA. It's a special city and I really miss being there."

Even as EuroBasket consumes his time, Batum keeps up with current negotiations between NBA owners and the players union, with recent reports out of New York City suggesting two meetings this past week have yielded progress.

"I hope the lockout ends soon, because I really do want to be back in Portland," Batum said.

So what can we expect from the Blazers when an NBA season does officially start? Can Brandon Roy and Greg Oden stay healthy? What will LaMarcus Aldridge do for an encore? Can Wesley Matthews, Marcus Camby and Batum provide some insurance? Surely another first-round exit in the Western Conference isn't in the plans.

"It's hard because in the past there have been so many changes on the team, but this year I think we'll find some stability, even though we have a new point guard in [Raymond] Felton," said Batum of point guard Andre Miller's departure.

"But aside from that move, we've kept the same players and have a good rotation. We know how to play together," Batum said. "Maybe it will be different. If we have a nasty Greg Oden, we can make some great things happen in Portland."

On Sunday, Batum faces his former teammate Rudy Fernandez as France plays Spain in Vilnius before entering the EuroBasket quarterfinals. And as weird as it may feel to Batum, it's a feeling he'll become accustomed to after Fernandez was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks in in the offseason.

But France has more to worry about than just Fernandez.

"You just can't stop one player on Spain. It's not going to be easy because Pau is tough and Marc is playing huge. This is the best team in the tournament. You can't just stop one guy," Batum said.

Batum is averaging 14.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, and currently ranks second overall among players with 2.7 steals per game.

Once EuroBasket concludes, Batum plans to take 10 days off and visit his family in Normandy, where he'll "stay at my Mom's house and let her cook for me." And even as he overflows with national pride in Lithuania and perhaps even move on to the 2012 Olympics in London, Batum still finds himself stuck between excitement and uncertainty.

"I know Nancy is my new team, but still in my heart I am a Blazer," Batum said, flashing an ear-to-ear grin.

"This is really going to be a great experience for me."

Sounds like the best of both worlds for Nicolas Batum.

It sure beats taking an elbow to the face.

Wendell Maxey is a freelance writer based in Germany.