It's no secret that the Charlotte Hornets want to get rid of Nicolas Batum's contract, a massive deal that still has nearly $80 million remaining on it from this year through the end of 2021.
In order for the Hornets to get another team to bite on a trade, they are going to have to sweeten the deal with either young players or draft picks, and even then, Batum will be a tough sell.
However, Batum is not bothered by the trade rumors, saying that he is used to it:
“Like every year. I was asked this question recently and I said that the only time my name was not in the rumor mill was when I was actually traded,” said Batum, according to Emmanuel Laurin of BasketUSA.com. “The rumors anyway, it’s okay, it’s all forgotten the next day. We are often in the rumor mill and nothing happens. I learned to live with it. It does not bother me.”
There was a time when Batum was considered one of the top 3-and-D wings in the league, but even then, he wasn't worth his current contract.
This season, the 30-year-old is averaging 8.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists over 30.7 minutes per game while shooting 46 percent from the floor, 40.6 percent from 3-point range and 84.8 percent from the free-throw line.
The thing is, those are hardly bad numbers, and Batum would certainly be a good piece for a contending team, but at that salary? It just seems very unlikely.
Batum spent the first seven years of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers before being traded to the Hornets in June 2015.
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