According to reports, unrestricted free agent guard/forward Nicolas Batum has agreed to re-sign with the Charlotte Hornets. His new contract will pay him $120 million over five years. The contract cannot officially be signed until the end of the NBA’s moratorium period on July 7th.
Shams Charania of The Vertical broke the news early Friday morning:
Free agent Nicolas Batum has reached agreement with Charlotte on a five-year, $120 million deal, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2016
Report: Nicolas Batum Agrees to Re-sign with Charlotte Hornets
Batum’s contract will take him through the end of the 2020-21 season. Batum has a player option for the fifth year of his deal, meaning that he can opt out and become a free agent again in the 2020 off-season.
Batum averaged 14.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game last season for the Hornets. It was a bounce-back year for Batum, after he struggled mightily with the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2014-15 season. Batum averaged just 9.4 points per game and shot a career-worst 32.4 percent on three-pointers that season, battling a wrist injury that may have affected his shooting ability. He was traded to Charlotte for guard Gerald Henderson and forward Noah Vonleh shortly after the season. Batum rejuvenated his career in a feel-good year for the Hornets in 2015-16, helping them win a few playoff games for the first time since the NBA brought a team back to Charlotte in 2004.
Looking forward, Batum will continue to be a great playmaker and solid defender on the wing for Charlotte. He’s extremely versatile, able to guard either the shooting guard or small forward in any given match-up, depending on which player is the better scorer. At 6’8″, Batum can even guard power forwards in small lineups, allowing his team to switch screens between him and two other wing players, if they opt to do so. That weapon is what the Golden State Warriors unlocked with Draymond Green starting at the four. Even though Batum isn’t nearly as good as Green, especially on defense, Batum can still creative offense for others, make shots, and defend multiple positions — all things that Green does to anchor the Warriors. The Hornets will need Batum to be at his best and live up to his hefty new contract in order to contend for homecourt advantage in the playoffs next season.
Batum is going into his ninth season in the league. He’ll turn 28 years old in December, so this contract will take him through his basketball prime years. He played his first seven seasons in Portland, with last season’s stint being his first year in Charlotte. Batum was selected 25th overall by the Houston Rockets in 2008. Houston traded Batum to the Blazers on draft day, allowing the Frenchman to begin his career in Portland.
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