Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum appears to be more confident and excited about the upcoming 2012-13 season, and the reason for that could be due to finally being on the verge of having a defined role with more responsibilities.

And signing a 4-year, $46.5 million contract will often get you such an assignment.

Batum says he knows people are looking for him to be an borderline All-Star in this league with his new deal and he’s in agreement with that line of thinking. 

“I signed an All-Star-type contract and now it’s up to me to play up to that level,” Batum told CSNNW.com. “I got team goals and personal goals I want to accomplish and becoming an All-Star one day is one of them.

“I want to be an NBA champion, I want to be a three-point champion. It’s all about winning in this league and I’m ready for that next step in my career.”

via Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com