Charlotte Hornets: Looking Back on the Trade for Nicolas Batum

The Charlotte Hornets may have made their best trade in franchise history when they acquired small forward, Nicolas Batum, from the Portland Trailblazers last year.

Last off-season the Charlotte Hornets acquired their potential superstar of the future in Nicolas Batum. It was news that shocked many fans when the team decided to trade their young talent for a three-and-D player like Nic. It turns out that the front office knew what they were doing on this one.

The Hornets traded their second year lottery pick, Noah Vonleh, and Gerald Henderson to the Portland Trailblazers in exchange for Batum. Everyone knew that Nicolas was a good player but Charlotte was potential mortgaging their future on the player that was in the final year of his contract. Not to mention that he was also coming off of a major injury that forced him to miss most of the season.

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Nicolas Batum’s stellar performance for Charlotte

Many speculated the trade and wondered what the team was thinking. Most knew that Batum would be a good player for the team but he had a much bigger impact than expected. Nic was the second best player on the team this past season and arguably their best playmaker.

Batum averaged 14.9 points per game, 5.8 assists per game, and 6.1 rebounds per game. He had a career high in scoring and assists. He also led the team in assists per game. Nicolas shot 42.6% from the field and 34.8% from the three-point line in 70 games this year.

His versatility was important to the team and that’s also what made him so good. He was a guy who could play great on both sides of the ball. He struggled early in the season with turnovers as he was adjusting to his new role but he seemed to figure things out as the year went on.

Coach Clifford originally planned to start Batum at the shooting guard position with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at the small forward spot but an injury to MKG changed everything. Even though Nic still played more or a two guard position with P.J. Hairston in the first half of the season, he always seemed to be more of a three.

That was definitely true when the Charlotte Hornets brought in Courtney Lee at the trade deadline. Lee is seen as more of a shooting guard so Batum was pushed to the small forward position, which he has played for most of his career. His combination of length, strength, and speed allowed him to play multiple positions and not be outmatched by an opponent. Batum is clearly in for a big payday this off-season and rightfully so because he is one of the top players on the open market.

Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh’s Down Seasons For Portland

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Henderson and Vonleh had forgettable seasons with the Portland Trailblazers to say the least. After spending six seasons in Charlotte, Gerald was moved to the Blazers where he put up the lowest numbers since his rookie season. This could be attributed to his decreased playing time but to trade an average scorer for a player of Batum’s quality is a win for the Hornets.

Henderson averaged over 12 points per game in his last four seasons with the Hornets but only mustered up 8.7 this year with his new team. He also saw significant drops in his assists per game (1.0) and rebounds per game (2.9). He played in 72 game but did not record a start and only averaged 19.9 minutes per game. In decreased minutes, he saw his shooting percentages raise slightly.

Even though Noah Vonleh only spent one season in Charlotte, his second year in the league with Portland wasn’t much better. He only averaged 3.6 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game. He shot 42.1% from the field and even though he started 56 out of 78 games this season, Noah only averaged 15.1 minutes per game.

Vonleh did not show the type of growth that many would like to see out of a second year player. At 20-years old, Noah still has plenty of time to develop and he still has room to grow. His potential is what intrigued many scouts including the Charlotte Hornets. He still could become a quality player in the NBA but as of right now, he is nothing more than an emergency big man on the end of a team’s bench.

It is still surprising that the Portland Trailblazers would deal such a great player in Batum for only two serviceable guys but they were a team that was looking to get rid of their big contracts and rebuild. It could be seen as a win-win for both sides as the Hornets got a star that they desperately needed and the Blazers got cap space for a young team.

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This was an absolute home run trade from Rich Cho and the Charlotte Hornets. They risked big by trading young talent for a veteran that was coming off of an injury but Batum paid off for the team. Re-signing Nic will be very important for this deal to be a complete success.