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Will Nicolas Batum be a Rental for the Hornets This Season?

By Andrew Kennedy

Apr 25, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum (88) reacts to a fan against the Memphis Grizzlies in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum (88) reacts to a fan against the Memphis Grizzlies in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports /
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There is an obvious risk when you trade for a player that will be an unrestricted free agent in a year. It’s a season where you do your best to impress the player. You almost have to roll out the red carpet for the player, keep asking him if everything is okay and put yourself out there more than you normally would.

This will be the case in 2015-16 for the Charlotte Hornets and Nicolas Batum. It’s only the end of July and the rumors about Batum potentially wanting to go somewhere else next summer have already begun.

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According to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, Batum has interest in playing for the Toronto Raptors down the road. Toronto is an international city that appeals to Batum and not only that, a team that has had much more playoff success over the past few seasons.

It’s the last thing you want to hear as a Hornets fan when you already know there is a lot of pressure that this season goes well so the franchise can re-sign Batum.

This may or may not be related, but Batum tweeted this Tuesday afternoon, the day of Lowe’s article linking him to Toronto.

Charlotte will have an edge over other teams next summer. They have Batum’s Bird Rights so they can offer him more money over more years. This is a real thing. We saw a lot of players this summer pick security over risking shorter contracts to better place themselves for larger ones in the future.

So there is no question that on the money side of things, Charlotte will have an advantage over other teams. That leaves basketball.

The idea in acquiring Batum is that you are getting a role player from a really good team in the West over the last few years that you hope can become an All-Star. Batum is skilled. He is your classic European-style wing. He has a good handle, is efficient with his decision-making in the pick-and-roll and a good outside shooter. But he isn’t elite at any of those things.

The things that set stars apart, like getting your own shot, creating for others when the focus is on you and producing when you are the No. 1 option, are still unknowns for Batum. But there is obvious potential there. With the way the league is going in terms of the style of play that works, Batum is no doubt a positive player. One that, unlike Lance Stephenson, should at least remain a valuable role player in Charlotte even if he doesn’t make the leap toward stardom.

But what will it take for Batum and Charlotte to be together for the next five years? Does he have to blossom into a solid No. 1-2 option on a team that barely makes the playoffs in the East? That would at least bode well for the future and instill some faith in Batum that, if the Hornets add another piece, the team could compete for a top-4 seed in the East in the near future.

Look around though, teams like Toronto already have those pieces in place and are certainly more established. A lot more may be riding on this season than once thought, and what happens with Batum may determine if Charlotte really should consider going full-on tank mode or at least part ways with him.

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That’s definitely not what they want to do. After a season of really bad injury luck and it totally not working out with Stephenson, some good luck and the new faces including Batum could be all the franchise needs to quickly turn things around and change the perspective people have about the team.

Injury luck is a necessity to even have a chance to accomplish what you want to in the NBA. The question in Charlotte is if injury luck is enough by itself to get them where they want to be. And if it will be enough to lock down Batum.

Batum may not have a lot of patience if Charlotte struggles to make the playoffs or doesn’t get in. He is used to getting there every year in a much more competitive Western Conference so it might be in his interest to bolt at the first sign of mediocrity.

Batum’s price will be high next summer. It might even be around $20 million per season, as suggested by Lowe. Sure, the cap is booming and Charlotte hasn’t had much success luring other free agents, but that might be a bit high for Batum, especially if this season doesn’t go ideally.

There is a lot of unknown heading into this season. Batum’s future with the team, what his actual ceiling is and how he handles more of a spotlight. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding those unknowns, but already hearing that a different city might be in Batum’s future has to be a least a little bit disheartening for Charlotte fans.

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