Nicolas Batum was long considered a player who would command a lot of money on the open market. There were a number of teams who were interested in his services and the leader among them was the Charlotte Hornets.
The incumbent made it their number one goal to keep the ‘3 and D’ swingman in Charlotte. He fits perfectly in today’s style of play in the NBA so he wouldn’t come at a cheap price. While some thought he would garner a max deal, his contract actually fell short of that. But he did get a nice bonus at the end of his deal.
Following from Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo! Sports.
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
Nicolas Batum holds a player option in the fifth season of his new Hornets deal, sources tell The Vertical. $120M.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2016
Batum will remain in ‘Buzz City’ and now the eyes of Hornets fans return to some of their other key free agents. Will they keep Al Jefferson, Marvin Williams or Jeremy Lin? There’s only so much money to hand out.
