Charlotte Hornets swingman Nicolas Batum has torn the Ulnar Collateral Ligament in his left elbow and will likely miss the entirety of the 2017-18 NBA season, reports Spencer Percy of Queen City Hoops:
QCH Source: Nic Batum tore UCL in his left elbow. In all likelihood, he's done for the season.
— Spencer Percy (@QCHspencer) October 5, 2017
Batum, 6-foot-8, suffered the injury in Wednesday night’s preseason game vs. the Detroit Pistons.
Shams Charania of The Vertical confirms the injury, but reports that Batum will miss just 8-12 weeks:
Charlotte's Nicolas Batum has suffered a torn ligament in his left elbow and will miss 8-to-12 weeks, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 5, 2017
Batum will receive a second opinion before deciding whether or not he’ll undergo surgery, reports Charania.
Batum, 28, is an important part of a Hornets team looking to make the postseason after missing out last season.
Last year, Batum’s shooting numbers weren’t great, but he averaged career-high per-game averages in the following categories: Points (15.1), rebounds (6.2) and assists (5.9).
Batum was drafted 25th overall in 2008 by the Houston Rockets, but was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. Batum spent the first seven years of his career in Portland before being traded to the Hornets for Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson in the Summer of 2015.
Batum re-signed with the Hornets on a five-year, $120 million deal last summer.
