Hornets GM: Re-signing Batum is top offseason priority
The Charlotte Hornets just wrapped up their best season since the franchise's 2004 rebirth, and they have every intention of retaining the player who helped make it possible.
Swingman Nicolas Batum, who was acquired in a trade last summer, is headed for unrestricted free agency, but Hornets general manager Rich Cho insisted Wednesday that he'll do everything in his power to keep Batum in Charlotte.
"Nic is a huge piece. He's No. 1 in our offseason priority. ... Overall he did a great job on both ends of the floor and in the locker room," Cho said.
In his first season with the Hornets, Batum averaged career highs in points (14.9) and assists (5.8) to go along with 6.1 rebounds, all while serving as the team's primary wing defender in the season-long absence of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
The Hornets performed 4.7 points per 100 possessions better with Batum on the floor during the regular season, though a balky ankle hampered his effectiveness in the team's seven-game first-round playoff loss to the Miami Heat.
The 27-year-old was somewhat noncommittal when asked about a long-term future in Queen City, but also open to the possibility.
"Why not? Why not," he said. "I don't know because it will be a crazy summer. (But) why not?"
Batum added that his decision would be dictated in part by which of the Hornets' other impending free agents - Marvin Williams, Al Jefferson, Jeremy Lin, and Courtney Lee - end up sticking around.
"I had a lot of fun with those guys," he said.
Cho was slightly more bullish about the possibility of extending the marriage.
"(Batum) definitely wants to be here," Cho said. "He's grown to like the city. He just had a child and his family likes it here. … We want him here."