Nicolas Batum
Last season, Nicolas Batum was sort of lost in the Hornets offense. He didn’t get much scoring opportunities, and when he did, he just looked passive and not very aggressive. The Charlotte Hornets are going to need a bounce-back season from him in 2019-20.
He hasn’t lived up to his five-year, $120 million contract, but I do think he will get the chance to contribute next season. He’s always been a very good all-around player, so he may be able to find himself a bit with Charlotte losing their two leading scorers from last years team.
Since the Charlotte Hornets will likely be in rebuild mode throughout the year, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a veteran like Batum lose minutes as the season goes along. They will likely prioritize getting some of the younger players minutes while the losses pile up.
I don’t think Batum is going to explode or anything, but I do think he will have a better season compared to last year. He’s going to have the ball in his hands more as one of the trusted ball handlers on this team and he knows that he’s going to need to step his game up.
He’s not the most likable player by Hornets fans, but he can play and I think he’ll have a solid year.