NFL Tickets
The Charlotte Hornets have a 22-24 record, but that may come to a surprise to many people. The team doesn’t have any stars and the market isn’t too popular. The Hornets are a team that hasn’t had much playoff success. But that hasn’t stopped the Hornets from trying to find success.
The Hornets had a 33-49 record last season and so the team decided to upgrade their roster. Jeremy Lin, Jeremy Lamb, Tyler Hansbrough and Spencer Hawes were all added to the Hornets’ roster. Additionally, the team drafted Frank Kaminsky and signed undrafted free agent Aaron Harrison. But the most important acquisition for the Hornets has been a trade for Nicolas Batum.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist suffered a separated right shoulder in the preseason. Kidd-Gilchrist signed a new contract with the team, but his injury will leave him out for significant time. Fortunately for the Hornets, the team traded guard Gerald Henderson and power forward Noah Vonleh to the Portland Trail Blazers for wing Batum several months before the injury.
Batum is having a career-year with the Hornets. He is averaging a career-high in points (14.9) and assists (5.3). He is also being more aggressive, evidenced by his career-high 3.3 free-throw attempts per game. His defense isn’t as good as Kidd-Gilchrist’s, but Batum’s defense is still very versatile.
Even if Kidd-Gilchrist possibly returns this season, Batum shouldn’t take a backseat to Kidd-Gilchrist in terms of minutes. Not only will Kidd-Gilchrist not be 100 percent, but Batum is also a better shooter than Kidd-Gilchrist. Batum’s overall play is the main reason the Hornets have the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference and are still fairly close in the playoff race.
Since this is a contract year for Batum, the Hornets should be mindful of that and re-sign Batum to a new deal in the offseason. Pairing him together with Kidd-Gilchrist will make the Hornets’ perimeter defense very fierce. And after Batum’s play this season, his return to the Hornets is all but assured.
Share 
