NBA Rumors: Nicolas Batum Re-signing Contract With Charlotte Hornets

By Jenn Loro - 31 May '16 08:59AM

Charlotte Hornets forward Nicolas Batum will enter the free agency market as an unrestricted free agent with juicy options laid out before him. But the Hornets are clearly determined to re-sign Batum into the fold where he helped the team's return to the playoffs with Jeremy Lin. They were knocked off from the playoffs after succumbing to Miami Heat in a hard-fought match-up.

Now that the 2015-16 season is moving to a close, the 27-year-old Frenchman is likely to be preoccupied with his next career move in the offseason. Unfortunately, the 2016 FIBA Qualifying Tournament for this year's Rio Olympics also coincides with the free agency season kick-off this summer. But according to a FIBA report, the French national team is patching up a deal with the Hornets that would allow Batum to play for his home country in the qualifying rounds. In addition, Batum is also on Charlotte's 17-man roster which seems to confirm the report.

"It is understood that the French player and the Hornets will quickly agree terms on a new deal and that could give France enough time to obtain insurance for Batum and allow him to take part in some of the OQT games," a report on FIBA's website.

Other teams hoping to acquire Batum on their roster are likely to end up disappointed. Recently, Trail Blazers fans have been discussing about pulling the French small forward back to Portland.

Another team reportedly eyeing to get Batum signed in is LA Lakers. Basketball pundits think Batum would be an alternative best fit for the purple and gold team if they couldn't get Kevin Durant to come down to LA. As mentioned in a report by Lakers Nation, Batum's flexibility would a significant small forward boost following Kobe Bryant's retirement. With Toronto Raptors' historic advance to the Eastern Conference finals, DeMar DeRozan is likely to remain in the Canada-based franchise.

Most NBA free agents would refuse playing for their national teams during the offseason to avoid injuries that would lessen their market value as they negotiate with prospective teams over new contracts.

But this shouldn't bother Batum much after coming off in full form after a career high season performance with an average of 14.9 points in just 35 minutes as part of the starting lineup in Hornets' 70 games as per ESPN report.